Undercover
by Mapperson722
Summary: Kurama and Hiei must rely on the expertise of a young war veteran, Delilah Pendergast, in order to solve several cases. Will they be able to use her to solve them all, or will she fall into a dark place where neither of them can go? Will love blossom between any or our characters? Or will an underlining friendship and trust prevent that from happening? Rated for later content.
1. Chapter 1: Delilah

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from the Yu Yu Hakusho series. I only own the original characters within the story and the story line. Now... Delilah is my main character that will be one of the more important story will be rated for it's later chapters. There will be blood, violence and sex, but not for a few chapters. What happens when Kurama and Hiei meet a young woman that can easily match them talent for talent? Will they be able to work with her, or will she push them too far and break up their friendship? Read and find out.  
**_

_**I look forward to all of your comments, I cannot keep writing this if I do not have your reviews. All translations in this story are brought to you by Google Translate... so if you are fluent in any language, do not blame me if it is wrong, contact Google.  
**_

_**And now, without further delay... I give you Chapter 1.**_

**_Chapter One: Delilah_**

Hiei sighed heavily as he looked through the files once again. They were for a new case that had been placed in his hands this morning, and the details were immense. Kurama was his partner, in more ways than one, however, he was out sick that morning, and Hiei was the only one that was able to get this case going. It was going to be a difficult one, because it was going to require sending in someone undercover. He hated having to rely on undercover officers... sometimes they could feed you false information and sometimes... they even flipped sides on you. The last time that he and Kurama had sent someone undercover, the crazy bitch had sent the partners into a full blown ambush, she was the one that put the gun to their heads and told them to drop the case. Hiei smirked lightly as he thought about where she was now... rotting in one of the worse prisons in the worlds. He shook his head, it had cost him and Kurama a lot of public outrage... but it was worth it. She was behind bars, the cartel that she was working was disbanded and now the only major problem in that area was sex slave traders.

Hiei flipped a page and shook his head. He absolutely hated slave traders... they were a brutal group, mistreating their slaves, selling them for the highest prices. It made Hiei sick every time he and Kurama rescued one or two of them. It would take the poor people weeks to get back into a decent form of health. They were almost always half starved and never once had one of them been clean. They were normally drugged on a daily bases and were addicted to whatever it was that they were given. He remembered very clearly what had happened the last time that they had rescued someone that was addicted to speed. He completely freaked out, tearing out his I.V's at the hospital, destroying the room just because he didn't get his daily fix.

The thought made Hiei shiver. To think that someone was forced to take a drug that made them act like that was beyond the small fire demon. He frowned as his thoughts returned to the case at hand... who could he possibly send into a place like that? He wouldn't even subject his worst enemy to that type of torture. He sighed lightly again and closed the file. He tossed it onto his desk and stood up, stretching lightly as he did. He looked out of his office and frowned.

Yusuke and the oaf had just come in for the night. He frowned at the two humans. Sure... he could deal with Yusuke, because he did have a slight admiration for the taller detective, but the oaf... not on your life. He was an idiot and Hiei would never trust him as much as he trusted Kurama or even Yusuke.

"How is it going in there, Hiei?" Koenma called out suddenly to him and Hiei frowned at the toddler.

**"How the hell does he do that?"** he asked himself as he picked up the file and walked into the main office where Koenma's desk was located. "Depends. How the hell am I supposed to send someone into a place like this?"

Koenma looked up at him and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, Hiei. But this is your department... when you and Kurama accepted full time employment with me you were given the choice of three departments. You two were the ones that chose Special Victims Department."

Hiei sighed lightly and shook his head. "Special victims normally would refer to rape victims and shit like that. You never told us that Special Victims applied to only those that were slaves- those sold for the use of their bodies- and that alone!"

Koenma shrugged his shoulders. "Sex slave and the slave trade rings are rampart around here... cannot help that rape victims rarely report their abuse until it is too late."

Hiei growled at the toddler and shook his head. "Do me a favor. I need a list of your undercover officers. Keep in mind that the place that they will be going is notorious for drugs, sex and heavy abuse. I need someone that will be able to handle that type of pressure."

"There is only one name that comes to mind for something like that," Koenma said to him. "Not even looking at the rest of the names and their lists of specialties... There is one woman that comes to mind. I can have her file to you by morning."

Hiei sighed lightly. "Fine. But I do not think that she is worthy... I will still expect that list."

Koenma shrugged his shoulders. "I highly doubt that you will need anyone else. Her list of specialties and trainings alone would out shadow everyone else that I might come up with."

"I doubt that," Hiei said as he punched the time-clock and walked out of the office.

))_))_

Not too far away, there was a peaceful village beyond the mountains that lined the Makai. Although the houses were not grand and the roads were still dusty, despite the changes around them, the people were happy with their lives. The people were even referred to as the Nomads. The village had no electricity, they still relied on the old ways to entertain themselves. The children played outside for the day, while the wives sat around the village, gossiping about their lives or spent a few hours tending to their fields. The men would be in the fields for the day, they grew their own food. They did not need the outside world to survive. Looking around the village... it was like a bowl. There were mountains to their sides and a vast ocean to their east. Should the mountains gather greater amounts of snow in the winters, the villagers could provide for themselves. They had supple cattle for meat, including wild bores in the forests. They also had fish galore, providing the ocean was kind enough to them during the winter. They grew hundreds of crops, from vegetables, herbs and fruits to healing herbs and medicinal aide from the earth.

In other words... this little village that only housed about six hundred people was absolutely perfect!

Everyone knew everyone, the children grew up together as their parents had before them. The children would run around the village playing everyday. They could sometimes convince a random adult to play with them. Even the weather was perfect, never too cold and never too hot.

One particular nice day, the children ran about the dusty streets shouting as they played around the village. The mothers never feared that they would get lost, since it was such a tight knit community. One group of children in particular were standing near the stables. There were four of them, equally split between boys and girls. They were not supposed to be here, but they always loved to sneak a peak at those that were training with the horses. Especially today, since the village's best was out there. Her name was Delilah. She was a beauty from the higher family lines of the village. Her father was the General to Lord Koenma's army, and from a small town... that was a big deal.

"I still do not see why you still come out here to train, Delilah," her father said as he pulled the reins to his horse. "You have all the training that you will need in life in MANY different areas... why keep at it?"

Delilah frowned at her father. She loved him to death, however, sometimes he was a bit dense. "What harm will come with extra practice, Papa?"

He shook his head and looked at his daughter. She looked just like her mother. She had long flowing golden hair that reached her knees with those captivating crystal blue eyes. Only being twenty four years of age, he was more proud of his daughter than he was of any accomplishment in his own life. She had spent many of her years training in the Navy and the Air Force. She came home with many new skills, her favorite downright was the ability to pilot any aircraft that she could get into the cockpit of. She was not shy when it came to training in other areas as well. She bounced around from SWAT teams, to the Bomb Squad, to Sniper Training. There was almost nothing that she could not do. Her expertise in martial arts and Kung fu helped her out a lot too. However, today she was not training in any of her major skills. She was merely having a bit of fun, and target practice with the long bows was one way to go.

She pulled the reins to her mount and smiled as she reached out for the long bow that her father was holding out to her. She looked around the course, one of her favorites. There was no quiver of arrows on her back, instead each target had a quiver of arrows near it. There were twenty five targets. She smiled, this was indeed one of her favorite downtime activities. She looked at her father and smirked as she tightened the grip on her long bow. She kicked her horse into motion and ran through the course one time, collecting three arrows on the way around. She turned towards the first target and readied an arrow, taking the reins into one hand. She smiled as she balanced the long bow and the arrow in one hand as she kicked her horse into a full speed gallop. Her father watched as she ran through the first target, hitting the bullseye. He shook his head. It was too easy of a course for her. She was doing this when she was ten years old, why fourteen years later it would not be as easy was just impossible.

After her run through the field, Delilah sighed heavily as she galloped back to her father's side. She looked at the course and smiled lightly, every single target out there had an arrow embedded directly into it's center. She handed her long bow to her father and he took it from her. He chuckled lightly and looked at her.

"I think there will have to be some moving targets in there next time," he said to her and she smiled.

"Most definitely, Papa," she said as she dismounted from her horse. She ran a hand through his long black mane and smiled again. "Perhaps, Shadow and I should set up the next course."

Her father grunted smugly and shook his head. "Not on your life, Delilah. The last course that I let you set up has yet to be mastered by anyone other than you."

Delilah snickered lightly and shrugged her shoulders. "That is kind of the point, dad."

She walked her horse back into the stable and noticed the four youngsters that had ducked behind the stable. She smirked lightly and shook her head as she pulled the bit from Shadow's mouth. She sat the bit on a wooden peg next to his stall and sighed heavily as she looked out of the open stable doors. It was a beautiful day, but to her it seemed to be dragging a bit. She frowned, that was odd... she could normally find something to do here.

Suddenly, a loud screech was heard outside the stable. Delilah smiled brightly as she ran out the other doors, running out next to where the four youngsters were still crouching. She looked up into the sky and smiled as she seen the being that had screeched. She shook her head as she watched the falcon circle above her. She whistled loudly and held out her arm. She heard the four children gasping in awe as the beautiful black and white falcon landed on Delilah's outstretched arm.

"Well, well," Delilah said lightly to the tiny bird of prey. She pet the bird on its chest and smiled as the wings flapped at her. "What on earth are you doing here? Ah- I see."

There was a message tied to the bird's right leg. She smiled as she untied the little string and watched as the bird flew up into a nearby tree. Delilah smirked as she unfolded the letter and sighed lightly. It was a message from Koenma. It was quite vague on the details and she frowned.

Her father walked up and seen the frown on her face. "What is it, darling?"

She looked at him and shook her head. "It's a message from the King. Koenma sent a message that says to expect company."

"When?" her father asked.

Delilah turned the little note over and shrugged her shoulders. "All it says is to expect company. Nothing else. I wonder what the hell that is supposed to mean."

Her father shrugged his shoulder. "Who knows. Koenma is a difficult man to interpret when he sends messages via bird. I was once given one that read 'Heads Up' and that was it. Of course two days later we had to leave for battle. So perhaps he might have some work for you."

Delilah smiled lightly. "One can only hope."

Her father chuckled lightly as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Are you that bored?"

Delilah shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say.. I guess I really did take after you."

"Do not let your mother hear that," her father said as the two of them walked away from the stables. There was only one reason that Koenma would have sent them a warning. Either something bad was heading their way... but then again... Koenma would have sent the message to her father, and not to her. That only left one reason... she was either in trouble for some reason, or else a new deployment was heading her way. Deployment was not all that bad to her, she enjoyed being able to help out with the war efforts, however, the war was over and there was a calm about the valleys of the Spirit World. There was only one thing that she could do... sit and wait, ready and prepared for anything that could come her way.

))_))_

Kurama sniffled lightly and shook his head. "Hiei, for the last time... I will be alright! Stop fussing over me!"

"I only said that you should take one more day off," Hiei insisted as the two of them walked into Koenma's office. "I don't want to catch whatever kamikaze virus that you had."

Kurama chuckled lightly. He only had a cold and it was only because of the changing of the seasons. He had been waiting for the next one to hit, but alas... one can never be truly prepared for a changing season cold, right. Kurama punched the time clock and walked to their office. He pushed open the door and frowned. Hiei had moved his desk about two feet from his and now Kurama was sitting right next to the open window. Kurama shook his head and watched as his partner walked into the room and took off his cloak. Hiei turned to him and seen the look on his face.

"What?" Hiei asked as he sat at his desk. "Until you have relieved yourself from every single one of your symptoms you will be working over there."

Kurama shook his head and walked to the window. He closed the window and laid his jacket over the back of his chair. "I think that this is a bit much, Hiei. Even for you."

"I hate being sick," Hiei said simply. "So get over it."

Kurama chuckled as he sat at his desk and turned on his computer. He picked up the several messages that he had missed the two days before. He frowned as he flipped through them. He sighed heavily as he held one of them up.

"I thought that you said the Hakamoto case was solved!" Kurama said as he looked at his partner.

"Just needs your final report," Hiei said simply again and looked through his own messages. He sighed lightly as he looked at one in particular. It was from Koenma and he shook his head. He stood up and walked to the door. Kurama frowned as he watched his partner walk into Koenma's office next to their own.

Kurama smirked as he could hear Hiei getting flustered with their boss. He shook his head and turned to his computer as the voice of his partner was heard through the glass window between their office and Koenma's. After a few moments he heard the voice die down, and a moment later, Hiei walked back into their office with a file that was thicker than any other that they had come across. Kurama frowned as he seen Hiei sit the file on his desk and sit in the chair behind the desk.

"How the hell are we supposed to trust someone that was deemed a dirty cop?" Hiei asked the red head suddenly.

Kurama looked at him and frowned. "What are you talking about? Who is a dirty cop, and why would you have to trust them?"

Hiei opened the drawer of his desk and pulled out a case file. He stood up and walked the file over to Kurama, and after he handed over the file, Hiei crossed his arms as he leaned against the corner of the desk. "Yesterday, there was a kidnapping reported. It was handed to us because it was two women and three young men. The pictures from the families are in the file, and they were last seen with a henchmen of the Yamamoto gang. The Yamamoto gang is well known for human trafficking and slavery. And now... that makes thirteen young men and women that have disappeared in the same area around the same time."

Kurama flipped through the file and frowned. "So an undercover operation is what is needed here."

Hiei nodded and sighed lightly. "Yamamoto's gang is known also for drugging their slaves before they are sold. I asked Koenma to give me a list of undercover officers that would be willing to go that deep into a job. He only gave me one name, and I do not think that I can trust her. She is good at what she does, however, she was deemed a dirty cop three years ago. Being deemed a dirty cop only two weeks after starting to work for Koenma is not something that I look forward to dealing with. Who is to say that she will not flip on us?"

Kurama nodded as he listened to his partner's concerns about the situation at hand. Kurama sighed lightly. "So... Koenma has set up a meeting with her?"

Hiei walked to his desk and sighed heavily. "Yes... however, she will not come here, according to Koenma. We will have to go to her. And Koenma requested that we spend two or three days in the village that way we can get to know her and what she is about."

Kurama frowned. "Two or three days? Why should we have to do that?"

Hiei shrugged his shoulders. "I think that he wants to prove that she may seem like a dirty cop... but only as a part of her cover. He said that she did things the way that she did in order to continue her cover. If she is on a drug case... a dirty cop is just the type of person that a drug smuggler would want. Someone that had access to the police and their activities but is willing to stay with them."

Kurama nodded and sighed lightly. "I guess that we have no way around it then. If it was an order... we cannot go against it."

Hiei nodded as he opened the thick file in front of him. It was quite thick... but then again, Koenma had said that she had solved over two hundred cases in the last five years. With no help, and with no access to the police involved in the cases. That was only slightly impressive, considering ALL undercover officers had to work like that. Hiei's eyes widened as he came across her page of specialties and achievements. Kurama seen the look and smirked lightly, the red head knew of several undercover officers and the types of credentials that they had. For Hiei to be reacting like that... it must be quite extensive.

"How the hell does one do this in only seven years? Wait..." Hiei read the file again and frowned. "She signed up with the Navy when she was seventeen? I thought that was illegal."

Kurama shrugged his shoulders. "If there is parental consent and the person is almost eighteen... then the Navy and the Army will accept their signing."

Hiei frowned and shook his head. "She must have been a problem child if her parents gave consent when she was only seventeen... and it says that she signed up only two months after turning seventeen."

Kurama shrugged his shoulders again and looked at his partner. "Look at you, Hiei... You started training at a very young age. Perhaps she did as well."

Hiei looked back at the file and read on. "Naval training AND Air Force? What the hell?"

Kurama chuckled lightly as he tapped several keys on the keyboard. "What are her top achievements in the Navy and Air Force?"

Hiei looked farther down the list and smirked lightly. "Pretty high up considering she was in TWO different military branches. Lieutenant Commander in the Navy and Lieutenant General in the Air Force. That is actually quite impressive. Says that she was awarded a Medal of Honor, the Navy Cross, the Air Force Cross, and the Silver Star. Again... impressive."

Kurama nodded as he looked up. "She has been a busy bee. It takes a lot to achieve a Medal of Honor AND a Silver Star. What else does it say about her history in the military?"

Hiei read the rest of the history in her military background and shrugged his shoulder. "Pretty much the same as any of the other officers around here. Once she came home from the war... it says that she jumped directly into the Bomb Squad and spent a year and a half there. Then to the SWAT team... and after that... nothing."

Kurama frowned. "What year was she in the SWAT?"

Hiei looked at the dates and frowned. "Last year!"

Kurama blinked. "Are you kidding me? Our department works VERY close with the SWAY team. Is there a picture attached to her file?"

Hiei nodded and pulled the picture from the page. As usual it was only attached with a paper clip and he stood up, studying the picture. Kurama looked at the picture and thought for a few moments. "Don't recognize her... perhaps she was more of a behind the scenes SWAT member... perhaps a negotiator."

Hiei shook his head as he took the picture and returned it to her file. "This type of woman... behind the scenes? I highly doubt that."

Hiei looked at the picture and frowned. She WAS gorgeous. She was attractive in a uniform. It was a white Navy uniform, the awards that she had received were pinned to her jacket. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun and her icy blue eyes were a perfect contrast to the darker blue of her uniform. He shook his head as he continued to flip through her file.

"It says here that she is the oldest of six children, lives with her mother and father in the village of her birth..." Hiei stopped and shook his head lightly. "It even has a list of her tattoos here."

Kurama frowned. "Tattoos?"

Hiei nodded and looked at them. "Four of them. A snake wrapping around a sword, an infinity symbol, the Japanese symbols for youth and beauty, and..."

Kurama looked at his partner as he heard the list die at only three. "And? What is the last one?"

Hiei frowned and shook his head. "A black dragon that wraps around her right arm."

Kurama blinked. "Do you think that it is possible that it is the same as yours?"

Hiei shook his head. "When I got this tattoo... and the dragon within... the man said that no one in the world was ever going to have the same one..."

Kurama smirked. "Coincidence. What about languages? Does she only speak her native tongue?"

Hiei flipped a page and shook his head. "Nope... it says here that she is fluent in French, Russian, German, Greek, and even several demon languages that are practically extinct. Again... impressive. But with a history like this... what the hell could she be compensating for? I mean... who does this kind of shit for a living?"

Kurama looked at his partner and sighed lightly. "I guess we are going to find out when we meet her. Perhaps she might be the person that Koenma says she is... perhaps there is more to her than meets the eye."

Hiei frowned at his partner. "That is why I cannot trust an undercover... There is ALWAYS more than meets the eye."

))_))_

The next morning, Kurama and Hiei set out on their journey to the village beyond the mountains. It was not a difficult route to take... however, the late season frost made the journey slower than the two had anticipated. It was only a six hour journey, the way they traveled, however, Hiei was taking his time. Meeting this woman seemed to weigh on him, and he had no idea why. It said in her file that her family was half fire demon and half blood demon. That combination alone was enough to make any detective's blood run cold. A fire demon was bad enough, but mixed with a blood demon... that was something to worry about, considering that both demon breeds were extremely powerful alone. Combined... what the hell were they about to come into contact with? Hiei shook his head, Koenma had already said that if he didn't trust the woman than he would contact others that would probably be willing to do this. Hiei was already wishing that he had just asked Koenma for that list instead of coming across this breed of demon.

Kurama looked back at his partner and frowned. "Hiei... Koenma trusts her enough to have given us the file. That has to say something about her character... right?"

Hiei shook his head. "Koenma would trust a poisonous snake wrapped around his neck if it smiled at him."

Kurama chuckled lightly and shook his head. "You are absolutely hopeless, Hiei."

"No," Hiei said as the village came into view. "I am just cautious. You said yourself that a blood demon mixed with a fire demon could be a problem. How you can be so carefree about this is beyond me."

Kurama smiled as he looked at his partner. "I give people a chance to prove themselves to me before I judge them, Hiei. That is how you should look at this. Give her a chance, and if nothing seems suspicious... than we have our undercover. If we cannot trust her, then we move on. Simple as that."

"Nothing is simple about this, Kurama," Hiei said lightly. "One of us is going to have to go in there WITH her. Can you trust her with your life?"

Kurama shrugged his shoulders. "I have yet to determine that, Hiei. Stop worrying. Koenma said that it would be a peaceful meeting. On their grounds, yes... but with a promise of safe passage."

Hiei shook his head and continued the rest of the journey in silence. As they approached the village, Hiei was dumbfounded. The smell of blood demons was rampart, as was the smell of fire demons. Were they all the same? Or were the two breeds coexisting peacefully?

Kurama chuckled lightly as he seen two children running by, chasing after a few stray chickens. Hiei frowned as he looked around. There were fields surrounding the village, and the people tending to the fields were starting to notice their arrival. It was not often that the village had visitors, it would seem.

A young girl that was holding a cat in her arms walked up to the pair and smiled lightly at them. "Is yous lost?"

Hiei snorted and crossed his arms. Kurama nudged the fire demon with his elbow and frowned at his partner. Hiei spat his normal hn to the red head and looked away. Kurama sighed lightly as he turned back to the little girl. "Actually, we are looking for Delilah Pendergast. Is she around?"

The little girl smiled lightly and nodded. "Sissy is in the stables. She waiting for you."

Kurama smiled lightly at the little girl. So this was one of Delilah's siblings. It was odd that the first person that they ran into was one of her relatives. What were the odds of that happening? The little girl turned and waved them to follow her. Hiei groaned lightly and followed when he seen the look on Kurama's face. They followed the little girl to a small barn like structure. However, behind the barn was a large horse stable. Kurama looked and smiled as he seen the many stallions and mares in their pins. It was like they were waiting for company, for the moment that the trio entered, every single horse looked up and whinny at the same time.

"Shimai, anata wa kaisha o matte iru!" the little girl called as she stopped in the middle of the barn. "Shimai... doko ni imasu ka?" {Author's note}

Kurama frowned. The little girl was speaking in perfect Japanese, however, it seemed a bit off to him. He spoke Japanese as well... however some of the words seemed off. Perhaps it was just the way their dialect was, perhaps the little girl was wrong... he didn't know.

"Auto kokobe wa, amaimono," came the soft reply through the open doors on the opposite side of the barn. {Author's Note}

Kurama and Hiei watched as the little girl walked out to the open field. They could hear the two talking lightly as they approached. However, when they got out to the other side, they were surprised to see several people there. One was a tall man, taller than Kurama and he was talking to another young man. Hiei blinked... the young man looked just like Delilah did in her photograph! This had to be another one of her siblings.

"Well, come out," the little girl said to the pair and they blinked back into focus.

Kurama swallowed lightly as they were all gathered around the horses out there. He didn't know what to expect. However, the older man took all three of the horses by their reins and led them away. "Come along, Tiffany. You needn't be here."

"Yes, papa," she said lightly and fell into step behind the trio of horses.

That left Kurama and Hiei staring out at the pairing standing there. Definitely these two were related. Hiei blinked again as Delilah turned to them, a tiny smirk planted on her face. "You two are late... I was expecting you earlier than this."

Kurama chuckled lightly and shrugged his shoulders. "The route through the mountain pass was a bit icy. Cannot help being slowed down."

She smirked lightly and turned back to the boy next to her. He had a long bow in his hands and an arrow ready to loose. She nodded to him and he lifted the bow and arrow. "From the core, Travis. The core must be strong."

He nodded and let out a steady breath as he pulled the string back to his cheek. Kurama and Hiei frowned as they looked down the length of the field. There were two targets set up, far enough that the bullseye in the center was difficult to see from where they were.

"Loose," Delilah said lightly and instantly the boy did as he was told.

Kurama watched as the arrow missed the target and landed in the tree beside the target. He shook his head lightly. Delilah sighed and took the bow from him. "What did you do wrong?"

He looked down. "I didn't focus enough."

"And?" she asked lightly as she took the stance beside him.

"I didn't center myself. I wasn't grounded enough to shoot," he replied as he stepped aside.

She nodded lightly. "Remember, if the shot comes from the core, it will never miss."

She took an arrow from the quiver on the ground before her and placed it against the bow. "Steady your core. Line up your shot. Aim at the target, and shoot."

She let out a small breath and turned to the side. She looked down the range and pulled the string back. She blinked and pulled the string a bit more, causing the ends of the bow to creak lightly under the pressure. She loosed the arrow and it flew down the range, imbedding itself into the target, perfectly centered in the middle of the red center. She smirked lightly and turned to the boy beside her. She held out the bow to him and he sighed lightly. He took his stance as he placed his arrow against the bow.

"Steady yourself, brother," she said lightly and he took a deep breath.

He looked down the range and she shook her head lightly. She pressed in his stomach a bit and he lost his breath. She looked at him and he frowned as she pressed his stomach again. He turned back to the target and aimed to shoot. She stepped back and seen that he was ready, however... she seen that his elbow was low. She smacked his elbow lightly and he raised it, lining up his shot.

"Your elbow should always be an extension to your arrow," she said to him. "Now... center yourself, and shoot."

He took a calming breath and let it out slowly. He pulled the string back and released the arrow. This time, it flew straight. It hit the target this time, at least. He smiled lightly and turned to her. "I did it!"

Delilah smirked and shook her head. "You will get better. One day, you just might be as good as me."

"You know... that is not a very good way to inspire someone," Hiei said sarcastically behind them. "Telling someone that they will one day be as good as yourself? That is setting the bar a bit high, don't you think?"

She turned to them and frowned. "Don't like the way I teach? Then get lost."

Kurama nudged his partner in his side again and Hiei growled lightly. "Don't mind him, Delilah. He is like this with everyone."

"How encouraging," she said sarcastically, but she turned back to her brother and sighed lightly. "Try again."

"I think that they have waited long enough, sister," he said and handed the bow to her. "If they do not think you are good enough for them, prove them wrong."

She glanced at the two newcomers over her shoulder and smirked again. This was going to be fun. She took the bow into her hand and pulled the remaining two arrows from the quiver. She placed them both against the bow, settling them both against the string. She took her stance and calmed herself. She tilted the bow to the side a bit and Kurama frowned. Was she trying to split both arrows that were already in the target? That was an impossible task. It was possible with one... but he had never seen it done with two.

The arrows were loosed and a moment later... there was the echo of splitting wood. Kurama gasped lightly as he looked at the two arrows in the target. Hiei's mouth dropped open as he too seen that both arrows were split directly down the middle. She turned to them and smirked.

"Dirty cops are pretty good, no?" she asked them as she held out the bow to her brother. "Very well... let us get this done."

"Koenma told you that we were coming," Kurama stated. "Did he say why?"

As the boy walked away from the trio, Delilah turned to them and put her hands on her hips. "There is only one reason that Koenma would send someone here to meet with me. You are in need of my particular services. Am I correct in saying that much at least?"

"You are," Kurama said and sighed lightly. He reached into his bag and pulled out a file. "We need someone that will be able to go undercover in a VERY delicate operation. We are here to see if you would be able to fill that requirement."

She looked at him as he handed her the file and she sighed lightly as she took it from him. She flipped it open and scanned the pages quickly. "A slavery ring? So... you two are part of Koenma's Special Victims department."

Hiei smirked. "For someone that left so quickly... you sure know the departments pretty well."

Delilah frowned as she looked at the shorter demon before her. "You know... just because you are here means that you cannot do this alone. If I were you... I would watch the way that you speak to me."

Hiei growled lightly at her and dodged as Kurama went to elbow him again. "I can find a hundred other undercover officers that would do this! If you want to be a bitch about this, then our business is done here."

Kurama sighed lightly. "Hiei, honestly. Please... I say again, do not mind him."

Delilah shook her head and looked at the smaller demon. "Do you know why Koenma sent you to me? It is because of my demon type. Being half blood demon and half fire demon means that no DRUG will affect me. It will burn off quickly in my system, leaving me able to do my job. You have obviously read my files... have you noticed that most of the stings that I run with are drug traffickers?"

"Yes, we did see that," Hiei snapped. "But this is no ordinary drug ring, girl. The leader is a ruthless man, he has slipped from our grasp time and time again."

"You know that Yamamoto is not the leader of that gang, right?" she said to them.

Hiei blinked and Kurama frowned. "According to our intel... Yamamoto is the leader and has been from the start."

She frowned and handed him the file back. "Yamamoto is a cover, a scapegoat. Yamamoto is a farmer... how the hell would he come up with two billion dollars to fund such a ring? The man you are after is someone much darker than you realize."

"You know of him?" Kurama asked. "Who is he?"

"I am sure you two know of him," she said as she looked at him. "In fact... you met him at the Dark Tournaments. He was the owner of the last team that you faced. The one team that housed every single one of your enemies."

Kurama blinked and shook his head. "Sakyo is dead. He blew up the arena and was caught inside."

Delilah chuckled lightly as she leaned against the stable door. "Do you honestly think that a man of such power is going to just blow himself up? He is using Yamamoto as a scapegoat so that people believe that he IS dead."

Kurama frowned. "And the rest of the team?"

Delilah shrugged her shoulders and crossed her arms. "They are not my problem. Sakyo is my problem. And I tell you this... should you bring me onto this case... he will NEVER see time in jail or in front of a judge."

Hiei frowned and looked at her. "So... you want to join us for revenge of some kind?"

Delilah shook her head. "Not revenge. Just because. I hate Kingpins. They are the lowest of scum. I have seen what they do to those that betray them and I do not tolerate that kind of treatment... no matter how dastardly the deed against them."

Kurama smiled lightly. "Perhaps there IS more to you than meets the eye. I can say that for sure."

Delilah sighed heavily as she pushed off the door of the stable. "Come on. Let's get you settled in for the night. We can talk more over dinner."

"Are you asking us out on a date?" Hiei snapped.

She frowned and face palmed. "I am going to kill you, Koenma." She turned to the fire demon and crossed her arms. "Let's get one thing straight here, half pint. I am good at what I do, I am professional about what I do. The only way that you and I would ever go out on a date is over my dead body. And that does not seem to be coming any time soon, so get over yourself."

Hiei blinked but looked at his partner. Kurama stood beside them with a hand over his mouth, trying to hide his laughter, but to no avail.

Before Hiei could say anything in his own defense, Delilah rounded on him again. "Koenma sent you to me for one reason - and one reason alone. Because I am the ONLY one that would be able to get close enough to the Kingpin. I can change my appearance, I can use magiks that are forbidden by any other race. I am the darkest person that you two will ever meet, and yet, I am the lightest person that you will ever meet. Koenma sent you to me because YOU NEED MY HELP. Get this through your skull. I am not in the mood to play games with you."

Hiei growled lightly as she turned on her heel and started to walk away again. Kurama stepped up beside his partner with a grin on his face. "I like her."

"Figures," Hiei snapped as they followed after her. "She is just like you in a way."

"No, Hiei," Kurama replied lightly. "She is just like you."

))_))_

The End of Chapter One: Delilah. So... I hope you all liked. I do not know the pairings as of yet. I am going through the motions with this one. I am almost tempted to make it a threesome... if you like that idea... please review and tell me this. But... what happens as Kurama and Hiei spend a few days with this warrior woman? Will they choose her to be on their team, or will they move on and run into her in the future? Find out later my loyal fans. Ta Ta For Now.

_**Author's notes:**_

_**Japanese translations**_

_**Shimai, anata wa kaisha o motte iru**_ translates into "Sister, you have company."

_**Doko ni imasu ka?** _translates into "Where are you?"

**_Auto kokobe wa,__ amaimono,_**translates into "Out here, sweetie."


	2. Chapter 2: Getting To Know Each Other

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from the Yu Yu Hakusho series. I only own the original characters within the story and the story line. Now, Kurama and Hiei have met Delilah, and now they have to get to know her a little bit more. Now, will they be able to trust her after only a few days, or will they move on?**_

_**Again, any and all translations are brought to you by Google Translate, so if you are fluent in any languages used within and they are wrong, I am sorry, but you cannot blame me. If they are wrong, bitch about it to Google, not me. **_

_**And now, without farther delay, I give you chapter Two: Getting To Know Each Other.**_

_**Chapter Two:**_

_**Getting To Know Each Other**_

Kurama looked around the village as the sun began to set. They had only been here for a few hours and he could already feel the peacefulness that Koenma had spoken to them about. The Lord had told him that the village was so peaceful that you wouldn't want to leave, and that was what had made Delilah go back to her home. He and Hiei were sitting outside of Delilah's parent's house and they were watching the children rushing home for the evening. Kurama smirked as he watched the little girl from this afternoon come bouncing up to the house with the cat still in her arms. She sat the cat on the ground and pet it on the head. She turned and smiled at them as she walked into the house. They also seen a group of young boys running towards the house.

"Ma! Ma!" one of them shouted out as he pushed through the door. "Can I stay over at Rico's house tonight? His ma said it was okay as long as you agreed."

"I do not mind," his mother replied. "But be sure to take your toothbrush this time! I know that she likes to give sweets before bed. I wouldn't want your teeth to rot out before they even come in all the way."

"But ma!" the boy whined.

"Do as I say," she said lightly and turned back to the stove. "And do not go telling whoppers anymore! I still haven't heard the end of it from some of your friend's mothers."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied as he walked to his room and packed his overnight bag.

Kurama watched as the boy darted out of the house and the three other boys laughed as they turned and ran another way. "I can almost feel sorry for that mother. She seems like she's got a houseful tonight."

Hiei grunted as he crossed his arms. Kurama sighed lightly and stood up, turning to his partner. "We are here on direct orders from Koenma, Hiei. If you do not behave yourself while we are here, Koenma is going to have MY ass as well as yours."

Hiei frowned. "You know... I hate you."

Kurama smiled lightly. "I know you do."

Kurama turned on his heel and walked back into the house. "Is there anything that I can help you with, Mrs. Pendergast?"

The woman looked over her shoulder and smiled lightly. "No thanks, darling. You are a guest. And please, call me Elizabeth. Mrs. Pendergast is my mother-in-law."

Kurama sighed lightly. He could feel the peace, however, boredom was worse. He looked around the kitchen, it was spacious for such a small home. He couldn't imagine six children here under the same roof at one time. He looked around and seen a family portrait hanging on the wall beside the dining table. He walked over to it and examined it. Elizabeth looked at him and smiled lightly.

"It was taken a few days before Delilah left for the Navy," she informed him. "It is not easy to get five youngsters together for a portrait. Let alone behave long enough."

Kurama smiled as he looked over the family. "You have a lovely family. I read in Delilah's file that she is the oldest?"

Elizabeth smiled as she turned away from the stove for a few moments. "Yes."

She walked over to the portrait and pointed to each of the children. "Delilah is the oldest at twenty four. Travis is eighteen, Sabrina and Sebastian are thirteen, Lukas is eight, and Tiffany is three."

Kurama smiled lightly. "To think... I was expecting something a little different."

Elizabeth frowned as she looked at him. "Different? How?"

Kurama chuckled nervously. "Well... as untrusting as my partner is... he had this thought that because she enlisted at such a young age, he figured that she was a problem child or something like that."

She giggled lightly and shook her head. "I assure you... she was an angel as a child."

"My father was in the Navy," Delilah said from the door. She glanced at Hiei and shook her head. "I heard tales of how he felt defending his country and those that he loved. I wanted to feel like that as well. So I trained hard and enlisted with my parent's approval. I worked hard, and soon enough, I was able to understand what it was that my father felt."

Kurama turned and looked at her. He also seen the shadow in the doorway behind her. She crossed her arms and smiled lightly. "I felt that same PRIDE that he did. I would not change what I did. I enlisted to know what he felt, and now that I do feel it... I will not trade that for my life."

Her father chuckled lightly behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "And that is the entire reason for enlisting."

He kissed her on the side of her head before releasing her from his grasp. "Koenma must trust you if he sent you two here. He knows how isolated this village is, and he knows how we can react if our lives are threatened in any way."

Kurama shrugged his shoulders. "We only came to determine if Delilah was the type of person we need to help us."

"You know that the rumors of her being a dirty cop are false, right?" her father said. "It was all a part of her cover."

Kurama nodded as he looked at the man before him. "I was informed of that. I do understand that was the reason to have, betrayed the police force, however, that does cause us a bit of concern. The only reason that we are concerned about you flipping in any way is because we have put our trust into an undercover before and that person stabbed us in the back. Hiei was shot, I was shot, and we lost half of our men."

Delilah looked at him as she gathered the plates to set the table. "I am a woman of my word. I have yet to go back on a single promise that I ever made."

Hiei grunted from the door way. "Cassy never went back on any of her promises either. However, when the money is good enough, ANY one can turn. I do not like to be shot at, let alone being shot period. I swear on my soul, you dare betray me in anyway, I will shoot you where you stand."

A soft chuckle came from behind him, actually, two of them. Hiei turned towards the voices and seen a set of identical twins, one of each gender. "You would not be able to get a shot off on my sister."

"Yeah," the boy said after his sister finished. "She is a way better shot than you will ever be."

"I highly doubt that," Hiei replied.

Markus, Delilah's father, stepped beside Kurama to warn him not to move. Hiei growled as the twins walked past him. Hiei turned and frowned as he was suddenly looking down the barrel of a pistol. The sound of the hammer clicking beyond the barrel made him frown.

"I do not take too kindly to being threatened," Delilah said coldly. "Let alone in my own home. Take my advice and cool it, Hiei. Otherwise, I will send the two of you packing... TONIGHT."

Hiei growled lightly at her, but stopped the second that she pulled the gun away from his face. She turned from him and secured the hammer once again. She replaced the gun to the hidden holster under her skirt. She returned to setting the table. Markus sighed heavily and shook his head. "Perhaps this evening is going to be more tense than I had thought."

Kurama leaned towards the man and shook his head. "Hiei has been through a lot in his life. Please forgive him. He doesn't mean anything by it."

"The hell I don't!" Hiei snapped from the door. "I told you that this was a bad idea, Kurama."

Kurama sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Hiei, a word outside please."

Kurama walked up and grabbed his partner by the arm and pulled him outside. Kurama walked him around the side of the house and pushed him into a tree. Hiei grunted as his back hit the rough bark.

"Hiei, I have had it up to here with your bullshit!" Kurama snapped. "If you do not want to trust someone else to go undercover, than just say so. We will put our own asses on the line and go ourselves. But I remember how your childhood went! I am trying to save you from that, you pisspot!"

Hiei blinked as he looked at his partner. He had never seen Kurama this upset. What the hell had this family done to him? "What the hell are you talking about, Kurama? Koenma said that there are others."

Kurama sighed heavily. "You don't get it, Hiei. Koenma gave you the one person that has single handedly solved several HUNDRED cases. ALONE! She will be able to get the job done, without HARMING the prisoners. I can go in with her, as her master to purchase the others. But Hiei, if you do not cool your heels for five seconds and TRY to get along, I will have no choice but to use you as the slave to get me in!"

Hiei growled at him and frowned up to his partner. "You wouldn't dare!"

"Bet me!" Kurama snapped and grabbed him by the chin. Hiei whimpered lightly at the harshness in the fox's grip. "I will have no other choice! Koenma sent me an email that BEGGED me to use her. She is the only one that will be able to go through with this! She has seen worse, has been through worse, and she will be able to come out the other side UNSCATHED!"

Hiei frowned. So Koenma was undermining him by secretly corresponding with his partner behind his back. However, the look on Kurama's face was enough to make the shorter fire demon back down. The fox was upset and that never bode well for anyone that he decided to point that anger at. Hiei sighed lightly and put his hands up in surrender.

"Alright," Hiei said to the fox. "I will give her a chance. And I will keep my bullshit, as you call it, to a minimum."

Kurama smiled lightly. "Thank you. Now... let's get back before they think something is wrong."

))_))_

After a nice dinner, Kurama and Hiei sat back and watched as Markus and the twins walked to the farthest end of the living room. The twins both sat down on a piano bench and Markus stood over their shoulder. Elizabeth sat in a rocking chair next to a warm fireplace, two balls of yarn sitting in her lap as she was knitting. Travis and Tiffany sat in front of the fire playing a board game. Of course, her only being three, she really didn't grasp the real concept of the game. Hiei looked back towards the kitchen where Delilah was still washing the dishes. As the music from the piano began to play, Hiei had to strain his ears, but he heard a soft humming coming from the kitchen. Elizabeth was humming along as well, and Kurama smiled lightly. This was a peaceful way to end the day. Children scattered around the living room with BOTH parents and they were all wearing smiles. This was something that he had always wanted. However, when he was reborn as a human, he was an only child and never had this. There was his mother, yes, but she worked a lot and then she got sick.

Delilah came into the room and tapped them both on the shoulder. As they looked back at her, she simply nodded her head in the direction of the kitchen. She walked back into the large kitchen and sat back at the dining room table. She pulled her glass of wine closer and opened the file sitting there. Kurama and Hiei sat across from her and waited for her to catch up with reading the file.

"What makes you think that there is any way to get all thirteen of them out at one time?" she asked as she looked up at them. "I mean four or five at the most... but thirteen? You must have some kind of way in with them to get that kind of an order."

Kurama sighed lightly and figured that if they were going to trust her, they might as well start now. "In truth... when we began to work in this department, Koenma gave us each access to another form. They were gruff and unclean, however, the first day we went out to investigate, we were mistaken for slave traders. Of course, we took that opening and made a name for ourselves. We became two of the most collective traders in the realm. As we bought and traded the slaves, we were able to clean ourselves up a bit to look more presentable. Well, now we have a tiny foot hold in with two well known slave trade rings and that is where we need your help."

Delilah sighed lightly. "Even with a foot hold in the actual purchasing ring... you need a serious amount of cash. On hand. I highly doubt that they would accept a credit card."

Hiei shook his head. "No, we do pay with cash. Koenma's cash of course. However, with each bust, we recoup that loss and then some. The cash is not the problem. Three of the names on that list are being auctioned at a private showing, and luckily we were able to get an invite. However, we need a slave in trade. We need you to go undercover to find the rest of them and send their whereabouts back to us."

"So the role that you need me to play is not another purchaser..." she sighed lightly. "But one being purchased. So you are asking me to sell my body to them? Are you two nuts? What makes you think that anyone would do something like that?"

"Because you would not be going alone," Hiei said lightly. "It would depend on how the invites go. Should one of us not get an invite, the other will be playing bait along side of you."

"That does not reassure me in the least," she said lightly to them. "So Koenma thought that this was something that I would be able to do?"

"When I asked him for a list of his craziest undercover officers... yours was the first one that came to mind," Hiei said to her. "He said that your skills alone would be of great use, and your ability to fool even the greatest of criminal. He also told me personally that you were not a dirty cop, that he was the one that sat that ambush up. It was a group of merchants that he had hired himself to give you the perfect cover."

Delilah looked back down to the file. Could she really do this? Could she allow herself to stoop to this level, to lie in the bed of another man just to get a few people free? "Have you tried to purchase some before the undercover work?"

"You would not come in until we ran out of options," Kurama said to her. "However, you would have to be there. It would show that you are a slave and being there with us when we do go, it will create your cover. You will not be some random woman that is untrained in the ways of a slave. That will appeal to many buyers."

Delilah stood up and picked up her wine glass. She walked to the doorway of the living room and looked out at her family. The door to the kitchen was only slightly opened and she sighed lightly. "Have the two of you really sat down and thought about how you are going to do this? Have you actually talked about a back up plan, and what to do should something go wrong?"

Hiei and Kurama sighed lightly. "Again... that is also where you would come in at. Koenma said that you were an expert when it came to recon and infiltration. He said that you got into the Kamikaze Drug Cartel within only a few days."

Kurama stood up and walked to the window. "You have the option to say no... but Koenma said that he really needs you on this case. He said that with you there... it was more likely to succeed than with any other undercover."

Delilah continued to look out at her family and sighed lightly. "So in other words... you came to me, for my skills and to create AND execute your entire plan?"

Hiei smirked. "We have no other choice. The kidnappings are increasing by the day, and if we do not do something about it, there will be a total panic in the Spirit World and that is something that none of us are prepared to deal with. The Slave traders will continue to spread, farther and wider than we can go, and that is something that we are not willing to sit back and watch happen."

Delilah shook her head and turned to them. "So basically... you have only the pattern to the outfit... and you want me to create a work of art, right?"

Hiei frowned at her comparison, Kurama however, nodded at her words. "In laments terms, yes."

She shook her head as she walked back to the table and sat down before them. "Are you sure you have the right person when you came to me. I mean... I am good, but I am not that good."

"Yes you are," Markus said as he walked into the kitchen. He had heard the conversation and closed the door behind him. "I may not agree with what all you have to do on this one... however, you ARE the best. You were a Lieutenant Commander in three years. It took me ten years to get three ranks BELOW that. You are a genius, you are skilled, and you will be able to do this."

"So you did hear," she said lightly as she sat her glass on the table. "Papa, you do not understand the situation here..."

"I heard EVERY word that all three of you had said," he replied as he pulled out the chair at the head of the table. "They were right to come to you, Lilah. Koenma trusts your instincts and I sure as hell do too. Give these two here the chance to be two more voices on that as well."

Kurama smirked, so her father was trying to convince her to help them. Did that mean that she was just about to refuse them? Hiei sighed lightly. "Koenma gave us your name. That can only mean that you were the one that he wanted to handle this. I asked for the names of several others... however he refused to do so until I personally sat down and spoke with you. If you are unwilling to do this, then Kurama and I will leave and you can go about your life here."

Delilah closed her eyes and leaned her head on her arms. "I will have my answer by the morning. Give me until then."

Kurama and Hiei nodded and watched as she stood up. She drained the last of her glass and walked it to the sink. She rinsed it out and sat it in the rack with the rest of the dishes. She then turned to her father and the two men at the table.

"I am going home," she said lightly as she walked to the door. "Goodnight, papa."

"Wait... you don't live here?" Kurama asked her.

She turned to him and shook her head. "I only stay here occasionally when the twins are acting up. I have my own place on the other end of the village."

She grabbed her spring wrap and tossed it over her shoulders. "Good night. I will see you in the morning."

With that, she turned and walked out of the house. Markus smirked lightly and turned to the two men beside him. "What, you thought she was going to let you stay with her? She is not that type of woman."

Hiei smirked. "Somehow I have a feeling that there is an entirely new side of your daughter that not even you know about."

Markus frowned at him. "My daughter is not a slut."

Hiei shook his head and looked at the man. "I never said that. But I bet you a million bucks that even SHE has her secrets."

Kurama sighed lightly and shook his head. "Hiei, why do you always have to be suspicious?"

"Because, nine times out of ten... I am right," Hiei said as he stood up. "But I do have a feeling that she didn't go home to think about whether or not she was going to do it."

Kurama frowned as he watched his partner walk towards the living room. "What do you mean?"

"She went home to start planning everything out," Hiei said and disappeared through the door.

Kurama frowned as he and Markus joined the others, informing the others that Delilah had decided to go home that night. Hiei and Kurama retired earlier than the man and woman of the house. They were sitting on the couch in front of the fire and Elizabeth sighed lightly in her husband's arms.

"Do you think that she will be able to do this, my love?" she asked him.

Markus smiled down at her. "Yes, I do believe that she will."

"Without any true harm coming to her?" she asked.

He looked down at her and smiled again. "I believe that she can get them out alright. And I highly doubt that any harm will come to her."

"Liar," she said as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "You know... as a father, it is alright to show that you are worried about your children. Even if it is only to your wife."

He smirked. "She may come out with a few permanent scars... but I believe that she will be able to handle it."

))_))_

The next morning, Kurama and Hiei frowned as the time started to slip away. By ten in the morning, Kurama started to think that Hiei was wrong about his assumptions that Delilah would do this. He looked down at his coffee, sighing lightly as he heard several people moving around the kitchen. Delilah was not there, however, her parents were up and about. However, suddenly Markus walked out of the kitchen and cleared his throat over their shoulders.

"I just got a message from Delilah," he said as he put on his jacket. "She has asked me to bring the two of you to her house so that you three can discuss a few things."

Hiei looked at his partner and smirked. "You owe me twenty bucks."

Markus looked at the shorter fire demon and shook his head. "You do not know that just yet, Hiei. She sounded tired, and trust me when I say... my daughter is never tired. In twenty four years, there has never been a day when she sounded so tired."

Kurama refrained from pulling out the money when he heard Markus speak. The trio gathered themselves and headed out. With it being mid morning in the village, Kurama and Hiei were able to see the village as it began to awaken for the day. They could see members of the village heading out into the fields to tend to them. They could see the women either making clothes and things to sell or else starting on the laundry for the day. Hiei looked around, this village was starting to look like something from his past.

__Flashback__

_Hiei looked around the village and seen the children running about as they mothers sat around the large tubs giggling about the latest gossip. In such a tiny village, everyone knew everything about everyone. Hiei continued to walk through the dirty streets of hard cobblestone roads. He sighed lightly, being different from the other fire demons in the village none of the other children would play with him. They would pick on him instead. They would stand around him and laugh as they pushed him between the members of the group. They would throw stones at him and laugh when he would be hit somewhere sensitive, and for a kid of only seven years old, that was pretty much anywhere that got hit. _

_"EEEWWW!" a little girl screamed at the top of her lungs when Hiei accidentally bumped into her. "It touched me! I've got cooties!"_

_Hiei frowned at the little girl as a group of her friends gathered around her and gasped about her being touched. He seen the older boys start to gather around and laugh as the girls turned on their heels and ran away. "Seems little Hiei has infected the poor girls."_

_"Should teach him a lesson!" another little boy said as the five boys gathered around the little fire demon. _

_"Leave me alone!" Hiei said to them as they gathered in a circle as they always did. "I didn't do anything!"_

_The boys laughed wickedly as one of them pushed Hiei from behind. Hiei fell into the arms of the boy in front of him and the boy smirked as he turned the smaller demon around and shoved him towards another boy. Hiei was thrown back and forth several times before he finally tripped on his own feet and fell to the ground in the middle of the boys. They all pointed down at him and laughed as he looked up at them, tears stinging the corner of his eyes. _

_"Only pussies cry," one of the boys said as he approached the young fire demon. "You do not deserve to have fire demon blood running through your veins. It makes me sick!"_

_Hiei had finally had enough. The boy continued to approach him until he was in striking distance. With a cool smirk on his face the boy raised his foot to kick at Hiei. However, Hiei was done, he was tired of being hurt by the older bullies of the village. He raised his arm and deflected the boys' kick. This caught the boy off guard and he fell to the ground before Hiei. When the boy regained his composure, the rest of them looked at Hiei and frowned. Hiei stood up slowly and frowned at the boy that was trying to run him out of town. If this kid was going to make a move, Hiei was not going to just sit by and let it happen. _

_"So, you are going to fight back, huh?" the oldest boy said as he stepped forward. "The odds are still in my favor. Take my advice, leave this town. You do not belong here. No one wants you here."_

_Hiei frowned as the boy balled up his fist and turned towards the smaller demon. As Hiei seen the fist coming, the small fire demon did the only thing that he could do at the time. He put a single hand up to try to block the attack. Hiei closed his eyes at the fist came closer, waiting for the blow to land... however, the strike never touched his face. Hiei opened his eyes and seen that the boys' fist had actually hit his opened palm and the group of boys stood there with their mouths hanging open. Hiei pushed at the boy, and the kid fell to the ground, holding his wrist. _

_"How... how did you do that?" the kid asked as he looked at his swollen wrist. "You... didn't even move! How could you have deflected my punch like that?"_

_Hiei looked at the boy and frowned. "I guess I have just had enough of you." Hiei seen a sudden movement to his side. "I guess that I have just had enough of all of you!"  
_

_Hiei held his hand out as two more kids started to attack, however, this time, something else happened. Something that Hiei had never thought possible. A ball of red light began to glow in his palm as the two boys' fists approached him. Before the boys were able to attack, or even pull out of their attack, the glowing red light grew bigger and bigger, until it surrounded the little fire demon. It was hot, burning the little demon to his core. Hiei cried out and curled his arms around himself suddenly and the light was pushed forward. The five boys that had surrounded him screamed out in pain as they all fell back, their clothes burned and their skin singed to the point of no recognition. When Hiei opened his eyes, all five of the boys had flown about ten feet away from him, and there was a sudden increase of gasps from the villagers around him. _

_"Oh, my!" one woman said. "He attacked them!"_

_"His powers are out of control!" one man cried as he approached the scene._

_"He is a monster!" another group called. "Villain!" another called. "Traitor!" Hiei looked around as the villagers began to grow outraged over the situation. _

_Hiei turned to the boys that had surrounded him and he gasped lightly. They were not moving, however, their painful groans and cries were the only signs of life from them. He looked at his hands and frowned, the faint red glow was still evident in his skin. He shook his head and turned towards the mountains. He took a single step forward and the group there gasped and stepped to the side. Hiei frowned up at them and shook his head. The tears that were stinging his eyes fell freely as he ran from the village. He continued to run well into the night, never once looking over his shoulder... never once looking back to what he had done. _

_End Flashback_

Kurama frowned as he seen Hiei blink several times rapidly and shake his head. Had Hiei been thinking about his past again? Kurama knew better than to ask his partner about it, the last time was enough. He had learned that Hiei was selfish because of the way that he was treated when he was young. He had also learned that he was the only person that had ever had a single kind word for the fire demon. The red head sighed lightly and looked forward. If Hiei noticed him staring, the fox was never going to hear the end of it.

A group of girls ran in front of them squealing with joy. A smaller group of boys were chasing after them, apparently the girls had taken their toys away and were playing keep away with them. Hiei frowned as the scene played over again in his head. There was something about the way that Hiei was seeing these children that were sending him back to a darker place in his life.

"Here we are," Markus announced.

Hiei looked at the humble house and frowned. It was almost just like the village where he had grown up. The houses were the same, the children were the same, EVERYTHING was the same. However, he had to think about the mission at hand. He shook his head lightly as Markus stepped forward.

"You okay?" Kurama asked lightly.

Hiei looked up at his partner and seen the concern written on the red head's face. He frowned and sighed lightly. "The sooner we get her answer, the sooner we can leave this place in our dust."

Kurama frowned. Perhaps he was right. This village WAS reminding him of his past. However, as Markus opened the door to the house their attention was returned to the true reason that they were there. Markus walked into the house and frowned. He seen Delilah bent over the table in the middle of the room, a small stack of papers beside her. He sighed lightly and shook his head. He turned to the red head and smirked lightly.

"Now I do believe that you owe your partner that twenty bucks," Markus said as he held the door open to the two young men.

Hiei smirked triumphantly. "I win. Now hand it over."

"Don't you dare," the voice from the middle of the room threatened. "I am not something that the two of you can place a fucking bet on!"

Markus frowned. It was unlike his daughter to cuss like that. He watched as she turned in her seat and looked at them. She folded one arm on the top of the back of her chair and frowned at them. "Do not lurk there in the doorway! It is terribly rude!"

Markus smiled lightly. THAT was more like his daughter. He pushed both of the boys into the house and chuckled lightly as he stepped out of the house. "Just be sure to come by before you leave, love."

"No problem, papa," she said lightly as she turned back to the work before her.

He smiled as he walked out of the house and closed the door. He sighed lightly and shook his head. He looked up to the sun and said a silent prayer for his oldest child. "Please... give her the strength to complete this task. Bring her home safe. This is all that I ask."

Hiei looked at the small dwelling. It was a single apartment like place, more like a condo in the Human World. However, he could see why she chose a place like that. It was simple, decorated with simple collections like weapons and art. However, one wall was the main thing that caught his AND Kurama's attention. They both walked over to it and stared at the glass case. It was her medals from the wars that she had served in. Hiei stared at one medal in particular.

"It's called the Medal of Honor," Delilah said lightly from their sides. "It is awarded to those who show gallantry and intrepidy at the risk of your own life above and beyond the call of duty."

"What did you do to earn that?" Kurama asked her.

She frowned and shook her head. "I don't really remember. I was a prisoner of war for a few months. I cannot recall any of the details, nor how I managed to get home. All I remember is going to the ceremony and when my name was called, I was awarded that medal. No one could really tell me how I got it."

"Luckily you are safe," Kurama murmured as he looked at the others. "I have to say... it is quite a collection of medals. I am impressed. Not many military personnel can say that they have both a Navy Cross AND an Air Force Cross."

Delilah shrugged her shoulders as she turned away from the medal cabinet and walked back to the table. Hiei and Kurama continued to inspect for a moment, staring at both of her uniforms. Hiei was thoroughly impressed that she was still alive, for the wars in which she had served were two of the worst. He shook his head when he heard her scoff behind them.

"Get your asses over here so that we can go into the details of this shit," she snapped as she continued to scribble on the paper in front of her. "The sooner we can get started, the sooner I can put this all behind me and move on with my life."

Kurama and Hiei nodded and took their seats around the table. For the next three hours, the three of them talked about the details of what would go on. Hiei watched as she showed them her ability to change the look of herself. He wasn't exactly impressed by that, however, the plan was more detailed than he would have ever imagined. Perhaps Kurama and Koenma were right about her. Perhaps she was the perfect person to help them pull this off. After the details were finalized between the trio, Kurama and Hiei waited as she packed herself a bag to take with her. Once packed, Delilah stood on the outside of the house and sighed lightly as she looked into her small dwelling one last time. If she was able to pull this off, this place was going to be a sight for sore eyes... however, should something go wrong... she may never see this place again. She closed the door and locked it behind her, the click of the lock was almost like signing her death warrant to her. She frowned as she looked at the door, fearing that was the last time that she would see the beautiful beech wooden door. The carvings were that of Irish detail, Celtic crosses and twists that were decorative beyond that of any other home. She sighed lightly and tightened the grip on the strap of her bag. She turned away from the door and looked at the two men before her.

"Shall we?"

))_))_

The End of Chapter Two: Getting to Know Each Other. And so... Delilah has agreed to this crazy ass plan, and had to plan the entire thing. However, will things go as planned for the trio, or will things go awry and destroy all three of them? Find out next time...

Author's Notes: I only know why the medals are awarded. I do not know exactly what someone has to do IN the wars in order to achieve such a medal so I made it so that she cannot remember. Please, no flaming me for the incorrect details, I am doing the best that I can, alright.

Next time: The plan is set into motion. Kurama, Hiei and Delilah go undercover to get back the thirteen young people that were taken from their villages. Will they be able to pull this off? Or will disaster fall upon our heroes and destroy them all?


	3. Chapter 3: Getting To Know Each Other 2

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from the Yu Yu Hakusho series. I only own the story line and the few original characters within the story. The main character that I own is Delilah. Also, her family, several of the Slave Traders, and the Slaves themselves. These characters are not meant to represent anyone or resemble anyone living or dead. Any connection or relation is purely coincidental. **_

_**In this chapter: Our trio has to infiltrate one of the biggest underground Slave trade systems in the Demon World. Of course, they cannot go as themselves, and so the names will not be the same. Kurama's name will be Akihito, Delilah's name will be Rayne, and Hiei's name is Feilong. (Again, the names are only when undercover, and again, any relations to someone living, dead, or fictional is purely coincidental.)**_

_**However, one more secret needs to be revealed before the trio can possibly go after Underground. And the secret was slightly given away in that last sentence. *Hint, Hint*  
**_

_**Chapter Three:**_

_**Getting To Know Each Other 2  
**_

Kurama sighed lightly as he looked at himself in the mirror. This disguise was perfect, however, only being in this form for a matter of minutes and he was already missing his long red hair and beautiful green eyes. In this form, he was the same height, had short cropped blonde hair with grey stormy eyes. He shook his head, knowing that his hair was the biggest thing about him. He missed the way that it tickled his elbows. He frowned as he looked into the mirror once again. He hated this form, and he knew that he was going to destroy this form when all this shit was said and done. He could not wait for that day to come.

A knock at his door came and pulled him out of his misery. "Come in."

His voice was gruffer than normal and he hated that too. He frowned as he looked into the mirror. He put a hand on his throat as he heard the door open behind him. "Wow... you look terrible."

The voice was unfamiliar to him. He turned to the man and smirked as he seen that it was Hiei. Of course, Hiei's height alone was what gave him away. This form looked nothing like the short, lean, well built little demon partner of his. This man was slightly curvy with long blue hair, and charming bright blue eyes. Hiei looked like a blueberry to Kurama. Kurama could not help but cover his mouth before he started to laugh out loud.

"You say a word, and I will kill you," Hiei snapped, however, the voice was higher than normal. Hiei growled lightly and crossed his arms. This form sucked. He was going to get Delilah for this. He shook his head as he joined his partner in the mirror and frowned once more. This was indeed worse than he had thought.

Kurama shook his head again and sighed heavily. "At least this is not permanent. I wonder what Delilah is going to look like."

"Let us hope that she has a mole that will be a total eyesore," Hiei snapped as he pulled up the sleeves of his jacket. The dragon tattoo was gone, however, a smokey black wolf replaced it. At least no one would recognize that type of tattoo there. "Hmm... I might have to get this as an actual tattoo."

Kurama looked at what he was talking about and smiled lightly. "Nice. One question... how you gonna get that tattoo in any tattoo parlor without someone reporting it back to the Underground?"

Hiei frowned and balled up his fist. However, before he could say anything, a soft knock at the door was heard. Kurama walked over to the door and pulled it open. Instantly, Kurama and Hiei was floored by what they seen on the other side. Delilah sighed lightly as she looked down at both of them. "Amateurs."

She stepped over the once red head and shook her head as she walked to the mirror. She grimaced as she seen her own reflection. The outfit alone was too slutty for her taste. Her breasts were larger, her hips curvier, and her once long hair was thicker and shorter. She shook her head, she too missed her own reflection. Her knee length soft blonde hair was replaced with ultra thick bouncing black curls that only came to half way down her back. Her once crystal blue eyes were now a dark, enchanting green. She shook her head. She hated this, however, the impression that she made gave her no choice but to smile. The boys had yet to recover from her entrance. She smiled as she turned in the mirror, smoothing the short kimono against her slender thighs. She smirked lightly as she seen Kurama coming to behind her.

"Wow," came his only response. He stood up and walked to the mirror. Before he got a chance to say anything farther, the door opened and Koenma walked into the room with three men carrying three large trunks. Two of the men stopped behind Koenma, however, the other man walked directly over to Kurama and held out his small buisness suitcase.

"Inside that case is the modified slave collar that you requested, Delilah," Koenma explained. "It has a tracking beacon inside. Should you and Kurama get separated, it will be activated by a press of the button on the ring that Kurama will wear. Also, the necklace has microphones that will allow Hiei to hear EVERYTHING that is said to and from you. You will not hear anything that he says to you, Delilah. Only Kurama will hear what he has to say."

Delilah snorted. "So... everything is wired for sound, and only Kurama can communicate. So if we do get separated... I can only sit and wait for help to come for me?"

"The odds of you two getting separated are minimum," Koenma said as he motioned for the man to open the case. "Your new identities."

The man opened the case and revealed all of the new things that would identify them to someone in the slavery rings. There was a fancy, jeweled necklace that was tight around the neck, as it was attached to a choker collar that would be strapped around Delilah's neck. Kurama was given a large green ring, much like the massive jewel on Delilah's collar. He would explain that if he pressed the large jewel, it would send a signal to the collar around her neck and shock her into submission. Hiei was given something similar to this ring, only it was in the form of a fancy, decorative cane. The large jewel between it the wings of an eagle that adorned the top of the cane would do something similar. Hiei already had someone that he would use as his own undercover. A young man that was also in the undercover league and was scrawny enough to pass as a slave. It was his job to trust someone to do something. However, Hiei would only come into the picture if he was invited, and only if Kurama was not able to get the foot hold in.

Kurama took out the necklace and held it up for Delilah. She sighed lightly and knew that once that collar went on, she was going to have to play as though she was at Kurama's every single beck and call. She nodded lightly, she could do that. She stepped up and turned around. She lifted her hair off of her neck and allowed Kurama the access needed to tether the collar. He hesitated for a moment and knew that he was going to have to try to make a deal with the devil of a demon within. Kurama was hoping that the evil fox within would only lend him that slightly aggressive attitude needed, and not the other things that came with teaching someone a lesson.

Kurama swallowed lightly and reached around Delilah's neck, placing the jeweled collar against her delicate skin. He tethered it securely, waiting to see if it was too tight for her. She turned her head several directions and nodded lightly. "Perfect."

Kurama nodded and looked at Hiei, but frowned to see that he was already gone from the room. He looked behind him at the case and found the cane missing. Kurama smirked lightly, so... Hiei didn't appreciate not being included in this. However, until Kurama fell through... Hiei was only to be listening in to the entire exchange, gathering information against each of the offenders.

Kurama looked over at Delilah and smirked lightly. "You know... your father would kill me if he seen the way you are dressed. So glad that he knows about you being an undercover."

Delilah smiled at him and shrugged her shoulders. "This is nothing. You should have seen his reaction when I came to a Halloween party dressed as a sexy Cleopatra. The only thing that I had covered was my pelvis. Other than that, the only thing was paint. He went ballistic."

Kurama smirked. "That would have been quite the sight to see."

Delilah looked at him and frowned. "My father going ballistic or my costume?"

The devilish demon smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "Both."

Koenma sighed from behind them both and they both turned to look at him. "What is your problem?"

Koenma smirked and shook his head. "You two are going to work great. I mean, already the two of you are flirting with each other. And neither one of you sees that you are doing so."

Delilah growled lightly and turned her back to them. "It is called playing the part, you perverted little sap!"

Kurama looked at her and sighed lightly. "Back to the situation at hand... Koenma, you said that only I was invited to this auction?"

Koenma nodded and held out the simple envelope that only said welcome on the outside. Kurama sighed lightly as he opened the envelope. Delilah turned to the once redhead and listened as he read the letter aloud.

"Dear Durigard Akihito, I am pleased that you have shown interest in our auctions. With a spot to fill for the next auction on March thirteenth, I am pleased to announce that we want you to come to our Exclusive Private Auction. You will have an auction room to yourself, and of course, we encourage you to bring as many of your "pets" as you would like. We love to see our guests bring their own entertainment. However, do know, that our practices differ from other places. We are always watching, and should you purchase something here, your price may be reduced should we find your entertainment to our satisfaction," Kurama shook his head and looked up at Delilah. She crossed her arms across her chest and waited for him to continue.

"Your pets are yours alone, so do not be shy to bring one along. Our auctions last for three days and will include some of our newest and best auction pieces. Should you wish to purchase, please keep in mind that this is a cash only business. Should your funds be insufficient, your purchase will be void and the property will be auctioned off to another bidder. Please be sure to bring sufficient funds, for we hate having to re-auction off someone's property. We look forward to seeing you, and hope that you will enjoy our hospitality. Until we meet, sincerely The Auctioneer."

"Pleasant fellow," Delilah said sarcastically. "So they will constantly be watching us. That means they want you to bring a pet with you so that they can watch you play with them."

Kurama shrugged his shoulders. "It would seem that way. Koenma, were you able to tap into their surveillance system?"

Koenma frowned and shook his head. "This system that they use... my technicians have never seen one like it before. If we tap into it, your cover will be known. The only thing that we could possibly do is peek into the video feed. In other words..."

"In other words, we are on our own here, Kurama," Delilah sighed lightly and shook her head. "I have a feeling that is going to be the norm for this mission. If they use an electromagnetic pulse... our locator beacons will not work, our audio will not work and we will be flying blind there. We will both have to rely on instinct and instinct alone."

Kurama nodded and sighed lightly. "The last time we went to a private auction like this... their security was lapsed and there was a ten minute window between shifts. This place is bigger and there will be less of a window. However, if we can sneak away from the cameras..."

"We are talking about Underground here, Kurama," Delilah said to him. Kurama frowned but she continued. "They have been doing this for many years, and their records of having a slave escape is only half of a percent."

"How do you know so much about Underground?" Kurama asked. "I mean... I know that Underground is one of the biggest secret society and is members only. But how does a Lieutenant Commander know of these kinds of things?"

Koenma sighed lightly and shook his head. "Alright... Hiei come on in. You have already received this information. Perhaps that file I gave you will help your partner out on this one."

Hiei walked into the room and held out the file. Hiei frowned as he looked at Delilah. She frowned at him in return and sighed lightly as she seen Kurama open the file on her. The once redhead looked at file and his expression changed.

"In the file that you were given before," Delilah said softly. "The file says that I am only twenty four. My real personnel file says my true age. I am in truth thirty nine years old, being so young was only a part of my cover. Kurama, everything else in my file that you have already seen is true, only slightly drawn back a bit. My ranks were not achieved in only three or four years. In fact, I have been a part of the military branch for many years. Three months from now I will have served the military for twenty one years. After I was retired from the Military branch, I continued to use the skills and titles that I had achieved to work for Koenma. I have been gathering intel for him for years. Even though the paperwork does not say that I am working FOR the military... in my eyes, everything I do is for the military. I personally have gathered EVERY bit of information about Underground that there is known."

Kurama looked up at her and shook his head. "So you are a liar."

She sighed lightly and crossed her arms again. "What part of UNDERCOVER do you not seem to understand? The only people that know about my true information is either in this room or is a part of my family. Everything that is known about me is a complete lie, only because it is a part of my cover. I am supposed to seem like the bad cop that betrayed my own country and was so ashamed of what I did that I retired from the military."

"Kurama, think about it," Hiei said. "What gang or cartel wouldn't want an EX military person on their side? I mean, it is the perfect cover. However, how they are willing to trust someone that already betrayed the one they served before is beyond me."

Kurama frowned and shook his head. "I had a feeling that your records were falsified. I mean come on... that many cases solved in only a few years? And to achieve such status in the military in an equally short amount of time is practically impossible. But my only concern now is... what else have you done in the past that is being hidden by this big of a cover?"

Hiei smirked and patted his partner on the shoulder. "Now you see why I didn't want to use her in the first place."

Kurama sighed heavily and looked at the toddler standing beside the door. "You know Koenma... that is pretty low. You used your information about her against me. You knew that I would be impressed with this type of a personnel record and would want to get to know more about her."

Hiei smirked and shook his head. "Duh!"

Koenma chuckled nervously and swallowed the lump in his throat. "Well... you ARE a fox... and she is like a glittering bauble that a fox cannot ignore. I had no choice. This case is serious."

"When Koenma calls me into the picture, I know that it is serious," Delilah said to him and crossed her arms. "My cover has always been the same, and it is not about to change, Kurama. However, I do have the ability to shape shift my form, therefore I can bounce between departments."

"So when you are not at home with your family, you are out working for the drug cartels as an undercover officer," Kurama said as he finally understood why Koenma BEGGED him to use her as their person. "You are the one that discovered Underground... Aren't you?"

Delilah smiled lightly. "I am. And I am the one with the most intel inside that place. I know the key players in each of Underground's activities."

"Wait... you are making Underground sound like a person," Kurama said. "I thought Underground was a slave trading ring."

Delilah shook her head. "Underground is many things. Many people. It is the biggest gang using the cover of being a cult, or a fellowship, or a secret society. They pull in their members and then reveal their true natures to their now members knowing full well that they cannot leave once they were initiated into the society."

"So Underground is not a place, but a Secret Society," Kurama finally put it all together. "You know... I have to agree with something Hiei said to me in private a few days ago. There are two kinds of liars in this world. One kind is a liar that will lie to you because they can. But then there are liars out there that lie because they want to. One liar can hurt more than the other, and one can strengthen a bond."

Hiei smirked and shook his head. "I was not referring to her when I said that. I was talking about your relationship with Yomi, and my relationship with Murkuro."

Delilah frowned suddenly as her head snapped towards Hiei. "What did you just say?"

Hiei looked at her. "Huh?"

"Those names... what did you say?" she asked him.

Koenma swallowed lightly. He didn't know the members of the Secret Society... but he knew that Delilah did. She could not reveal all of the names, but she did warn him to be cautious of who he was allied with. And he was allied with both of those names. However, once Hiei repeated the names, the young lord almost instantly seen the change in Delilah's stance.

"You two are close to them? How close?" Delilah turned to each of them.

"Yomi and I used to work together before I was reborn as a human," Kurama said to her with a confused look on his face. "And Hiei occasionally works with Murkuro. Why? What is wrong?"

Delilah shook her head. "They know about Underground. They have been aiding in it's growth for years!"

Hiei frowned as he looked at her. "You are mistaken there. Murkuro has been trying to aid us in ending the drug trafficking. And with the weapon raids. She isn't in on this."

"Where have you been getting your information ABOUT said drug and weapon imports, Hiei?" Delilah pointed out. "I do not think the two of you grasp exactly what Underground really is."

Kurama shook his head. "Obviously not, considering that we were thinking all along that it is a place and not a group of people."

Delilah sighed lightly and crossed her arms. "Underground is many things. It is a place, it is people, it is outright evil. However, Underground IS divided into three very powerful and very evil groups. There is the Slavery Underground, the Drug Underground, and the Weapons Underground. Each ring has one Kingpin and all of its followers. However, my research all of these years has not once revealed a single one of the Kingpins, and that is most likely why Koenma wanted me to go undercover with you. I can distinguish a follower from a leader, and a leader from a Kingpin."

"So leaders are different from Kingpins?" Hiei asked her.

Delilah nodded. "Yes. The leaders of the Underground are the snake-heads and the cartel lords. The Kingpins are the money horses. The Kingpins are the ones that tell the leaders what to do. In other words... the leaders are merely a liaison for the Kingpin, a scapegoat."

Kurama frowned. "And what category does Murkuro and Yomi fall into?"

Delilah sighed lightly and shrugged her shoulders. "I do not know that much yet. The only thing that I do know... is that their names have come up when dealing with the drug cartels. Yomi has come up time and time again when it comes to the opium routes. It seems that he has allowed Underground complete access to his trading routes and even has granted them full immunity when it comes to a crime committed in his territories. The same goes for Murkuro and the illegal weapons imports. She lives on the oceanfront lands. It is her say that the ships are even allowed to enter port, and again, each ship captain and their crews and cargo go unchecked at each port. They are in this quite deep..."

"But you cannot distinguish whether they are leaders or if they are the actual Kingpins themselves." Hiei snapped as he crossed his arms. "You know... you are good at what you do... however, you are too cocky when it comes to throwing a name into the mix."

"I am not just throwing a name into the mix!" Delilah snapped. "I have been following this fucking group for many years and I have personally seen EACH of them working with the cartels!"

Kurama shook his head and sighed lightly. "We are getting way off topic here. You have been working undercover for all these years to destroy Underground, right? Why not arrest those that you BELIEVE are higher on the ladder rather than allowing them to continue what they are doing?"

Delilah sighed heavily and Koenma sighed along with her. "Its not that easy, Kurama. You and Hiei know full well that it takes time to gather the intel needed to keep someone behind bars for the crimes that they have committed. If she cannot testify to the fact that they WERE the ones in charge and that the Kingpin is off the streets... she will be the one that is in trouble. I have already had to go over this with her parents. This is why they know EVERYTHING about her being an undercover agent."

"Even if the charges do not stick... getting them off the streets for a few days has got to count for something!" Kurama insisted.

"Yes, it will count for something... my life!" Delilah snapped and walked out of the room. "I am not about to throw my life away over a gangster spending a few measly days behind bars!"

Kurama sighed heavily and shook his head. "Koenma... change me back. I need to talk to her, and this form is not the way I want to do it."

Koenma frowned, but instead of question Kurama, he waved his hands and Kurama could see that his red hair began to slide down his shoulders. He smiled as he ran his fingers threw the soft tresses there. "Thanks, Koenma."

"Do be warned, Kurama," Koenma said to him. "Once you are undercover... you will not be able to change back until you come back."

Kurama nodded and walked out of the room. He walked down the hall and seen that Delilah's door was opened. He knocked gently before walking into the room. He could see her standing at the mirror frowning at her own reflection.

"I have been doing this for many years, Kurama..." Delilah said softly. "Every time I go... I get closer and closer to the truth... but then it just slips through my fingers. I have started to feel desperate to end this."

Kurama walked up to her and sighed lightly when he came to stop behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her in the mirror. "Then what are you waiting for? You have the knowledge to get us in. We have the means to get them out, and we have an opening to finally put an end to this Underground terror force. I am not trying to be a dick when I asked why not get them off the streets for just a few days. I merely wanted to know why not send the members a message saying that the police and even Koenma is onto them? That is what I meant when I said that it has got to count for something."

Delilah shook her head. "Underground is extremely faithful to its members and to their means. If a few gangsters are arrested... it will amount to nothing. By the time the ones that were arrested hit the streets again in just a few days... there will already be ten more to replace the few! Underground is constantly recruiting new people. And that is why it is getting so bad. The members are increasing and therefore, so is Underground. We have to hit them in the heart of the society or else it is all for nothing. Taking down all three of the Kingpins at once will be the only way to destroy Underground completely. This much is known for sure. I have no choice, but to wait to find out WHO the three Kingpins really are."

Kurama sighed lightly. "Then what are you waiting for? The invitation is for tomorrow night. It will be a six hour ride from here."

Delilah turned and looked at him after having turned her back to him. She smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "I am only hoping that you really understand what it is you are getting into here. You are a good person, Kurama. I would hate to see you get hurt in that place."

Kurama smirked and crossed his arms. "I am not as weak and fragile as I seem, Delilah. I am a fox demon after all, I do have my wits about me."

Delilah smiled and again shrugged her shoulders. "Well, then... shall we get going, Master?"

Kurama smiled back and nodded. "I will be ready to leave in five minutes."

))_))_

Hiei sighed heavily as he sat back against the soft chair in the Communications Department. He flipped on a set of monitors and tapped a few keys on the keyboard. After a few moments, a point of view screen came up and Hiei smirked lightly. Koenma specifically forgot to mention to the two of them that there were miniature cameras in the collar and in Kurama's medallion around his own neck. Hiei shook his head, he was almost regretting sending Kurama with that girl. She was more dangerous than the fox realized. If she knew this much about Underground and had lied to them from the beginning... what else was she possibly capable of? Hiei shook his head. There was nothing that he could do about it now. All he could do was sit back and watch and listen. He picked up a headphone set and placed the earpiece into his ear. He smirked and knew that only Kurama could hear what he said to him, and that was the perfect time to get as much info out of her that he could.

"Welcome, welcome, to your friendly neighborhood ride along," Hiei said sarcastically as he tapped the on button. "My name is Hiei and I will be your sole form of entertainment on this six hour expedition of yours."

))_))_

Kurama smirked lightly as he heard Hiei's words in his receiver in his ear. "Very funny, Hiei. By the way... what the hell took you so long?"

_"Shut up, Kurama," Hiei said to him through the receiver. "I got here when I damned well pleased. What is it to you?"_

Kurama smirked again and shook his head. "You know, Hiei... I am beginning to think that you are jealous that it is me on this little trip and not you. On a scale of one to ten... how right am I?"

Hiei scoffed into Kurama's ear. _"You are way off base here, Kurama. I am not jealous... I am worried about my partner, that's all."_

"Awe," Kurama replied to that. "How sweet."

Delilah rolled her eyes and continued onwards. However, she stopped her horse suddenly as she found that the borders were crawling with members from Underground. "Um... Kurama... we have a problem."

"I see it," Kurama said as he came up beside her. "What should we do?"

Delilah watched as a single carriage was allowed to pass through the borders. She seen the group of men standing there and she frowned. "There is only one thing that we can do. They are members of Underground... we are going to the slave auction... our best chance at getting in... is those men there."

Kurama sighed lightly and nodded. "Seems the act has to begin before the entire audience has been seated. That is too bad. I was hoping that we could talk a bit more before it all really began."

Delilah turned to him and shook her head. "You know... as a former fox, you of all people should know that curiosity killed the cat."

Hiei didn't like the sound of that. What the hell was she hiding? However, he didn't get the chance to ask, for Kurama and Delilah kicked their horses forward and headed towards the group of men. Hiei sat back in his chair and watched the point of view camera shots and frowned as he watched the interaction. Kurama and Delilah were questioned about their business in the Demon World and Kurama showed them the invitation to the auction. One of the men couldn't help but sit there and drool over Delilah, for her outfit was that of a common slave. Showing off every bit of flesh, without being too showy with the intimate parts. Delilah squirmed as she could tell that the man's eyes were glued to the exposed thigh and hip on one side of the horse. She was at least riding side saddle and was covered in all the right places.

"Let them through," the lead demon called and Kurama smiled lightly. He and Delilah entered the Demon World and Hiei sighed lightly.

_"All right, Kurama... you are officially on your own here," the fire demon said softly. "Be careful, okay."_

"Is this concern that I hear, partner?" Kurama asked lightly. "I think I could get used to hearing that."

_"Baka! Just be careful!" Hiei snapped and the communication was cut to necessity only. _

Kurama smirked and shook his head. He turned to Delilah and seen that she was nervous. "You okay?"

She smiled weakly at him and nodded. "Just something about the Demon World always unnerves me. It kind of creeps me out... you know?"

Kurama smiled lightly and shrugged his shoulders. "I used to live in the Demon World. The feeling in the atmosphere... you will get used to it soon enough."

"That is my point, Kurama," she replied. "I have been here many times and yet, this feeling of unease has yet to go away. I hate this world, and that is not about to change."

Kurama smirked and nodded to her. "Well, there are people that do not feel at ease here, and there are those that do feel at ease here. However... your visible nervousness will be of great use to us here. It makes you seem shy."

She smiled lightly and nodded. "Glad to help."

Kurama chuckled at her sarcasm and looked ahead. He knew that she was merely trying to gather her wits about her, all the while trying to remain focused on the character that she is portraying. The thought of having her play a slave and help him get closer to the masterminds of the slavery rings was a genius plan, however, Kurama did not know much about her. And he didn't know just how far she was willing to go. He knew that once they got to the hotel he was going to have to ask her about that. But that was going to be a difficult task in itself. She was already nervous at being IN the Demon World... how was she going to react should he be required to show proof that she was his slave?

"Relax, Kurama..." she said to him after noticing the change in his facial expressions. "I know how to act my part... and if getting to the main players means having to play THIS part... then it is something that I am willing to do."

Kurama nodded and sighed lightly as they could see the large hotel starting to peak over the horizon. It was a hotel owned by the members of Underground and Delilah knew that their conversations were going to be put to an end here. Delilah sighed lightly and looked at her new partner.

"Well... here goes nothing," she said lightly as she reached into the little pocket of her flashy dress. She pulled out a tiny container and opened its lid. Inside were a set of tongue rings and a single set of dangles and she sighed lightly.

"What is that?" Kurama asked as she pulled them out.

She smirked lightly and shrugged her shoulders. "Something that my mother would actually kill me for if she really knew about them."

She stuck out her tongue and Kurama frowned as he watched her place the ring in her tongue. Kurama shuddered lightly and shook his head. He hadn't expected that. However... when she took the second set of dangles and reached to her belly button. He heard the slight click of the clasp and she smiled lightly. She turned and looked at him trying to get a good look at them. She smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"What? I was a teenager once!" she snapped and Kurama smirked lightly.

"Hmm... this could really be more fun than I had first thought," he said lightly and he could hear his partner's groan through the earpiece in his ear. "I mean... a pretty girl that has your skills AND has a thing for keeping secrets from her parents? That is my kind of woman."

_"You are getting too involved, Kurama," Hiei informed him. "You have to keep in character."_

"Duh," Kurama said to his partner. "Why do you think I said that? You of all people know me better than that, Hiei."

Delilah shook her head and sighed lightly. "Why do I have the sneaky feeling that you are talking about ME?"

Kurama looked at her and smiled. "Because we are."

Delilah shook her head. "Jerks."

"Slave," Kurama retorted and smirked as he got a chuckle out of his partner. However, Kurama suddenly bristled as he felt an odd presence behind him.

"Master..." Delilah said softly as she felt the presence as well.

"I feel them," he said and turned his head slightly, knowing that he was wearing a camera. After a few moments he was informed that Hiei was able to get the view and Kurama turned back to face forward. "Seems we have an escort."

Delilah swallowed lightly and frowned. She had expected an escort from the hotel to the actual auction... but not one TO the hotel. She knew that she was going to have to keep calm and she took a deep breath. She was getting nervous already and she knew that was a bad thing. However, Kurama had told her that her unease was a perfect addition to her act. She knew that he was right, however, she was wearing several spirit cuffs that were blocking any and all of her energies. That was the reason for her discomfort. She was so used to having her powers about her and being able to feel secure enough to be able to take care of herself. Putting all of her trust into someone that she knew less than a week was something that was difficult for her. She knew that she was going out on a huge limb when she accepted this mission. But she knew that she would be able to overcome this soon enough. It was just... she was nervous.

"Relax," Kurama told her softly.

_"Facial recognition is in..." Hiei said into Kurama's ear. "Two of them are from Underground. They appear in the database as Hector and Hugo Vincent. The third is known as Vlad Valentino. Unknown if he is an affiliate of Underground."_

Kurama sighed lightly and shook his head. So... they were already being followed by members of Underground. So... that meant only one thing. They were already being watched by the organization. Kurama frowned as he seen the trio appear beside him and Delilah.

"Your names!" one of them said. "What are they and what is your purpose here?"

Kurama frowned at the three men that surrounded them and shook his head. "My name is Akihito. I am here by invitation for the private auction."

"Where is your invite?" one of the men snapped. "This is a member's only auction!"

Kurama sighed lightly and reached into his shirt. He pulled out the invitation and held it out to the man. But his attention was focused on the two men that were gawking at Delilah. Her horse was shifting nervously underneath her and she frowned at them. One of them reached out to touch her and she growled lightly.

"How dare you!" the man said when she slapped his hand away. "A slave never touches a man like that."

Kurama chuckled and reached out for Delilah's horse reins. He pulled her horse closer to his own and she looked at him. He looked at the man and frowned. "A stranger never touches another man's slave. And I do not like to share."

The man who had taken their invitation smirked lightly and held out the invitation. "Hugo, enough. Very well, Mr. Akihito. My name is Vlad Valentino, I will be your host while at this auction. Will you and your lovely guest please... follow me."

Delilah took the reins from Kurama and the two followed after their "host" leaving the other two behind. Kurama was actually thankful that it was only one of them that was leading them. The other two had menacing energies about them. This man, however, did not emit a dark energy. Instead... it almost felt like he was a good man.

"My men and I have been instructed to guide each of our special guests to the hotel," Vlad said to them. "However, since you are here for the Private Auction... your stay will be upgraded to a VIP suite at the Auction site. The hotel is more for the scum that come to buy the normal wares."

Kurama swallowed lightly. "This was not mentioned to me before coming here. Why is that?"

Vlad smiled as he looked at him. "Because I have only received the orders this morning myself, sir. You and your slave will be housed in the VIP suite..."

"Slave is not her name," Kurama snapped.

The man blinked at him and shook his head lightly. "My apologies, sir. And what might that be?"

Kurama snorted. "Her name is Rayne. And you shall address her as such."

"Yes sir," Vlad said to him and turned to Delilah. "My apologies, Miss Rayne. I am normally not as crude as I have appeared before you."

She snorted lightly at him and turned her nose up to him. Kurama smirked lightly as the man blinked at her. "She has stubbornness issues. Seems she only is nice to me."

"One would only hope that she has respect for you, sir," Vlad said as he looked on. "If not... what kind of master would you be, right?"

Kurama frowned at him at hearing him say this. This was not the type of man that he had been expecting. He was so honest and open to the slave traders. He spoke about them as if he was entitled to say such things. This made Kurama nervous as they approached a large convention center. At least that was what it looked like to Kurama. However, the once red head was noticing his new partner shift nervously beside him.

"Something wrong, miss?" Vlad asked her lightly.

She frowned and shook her head. Kurama knew that her cover was to be the shy slave, and knew that he was going to have to cover for her now. "This is the first time that I have brought her along to an auction with me. I normally bring one of my males... however, both of them seem to have gotten sick this week. She was my only other option."

Vlad nodded and smiled lightly. "Too bad... A master who has so few choices. It is no wonder then as to why you have come to such an esteemed auction. I mean, seeing as to how beautiful and charming Miss Rayne is here... one can only imagine what your tastes really do hold."

Kurama frowned. "I am sensing that you are searching for information."

The man smiled beside him and shrugged his shoulders. "It is my job as a host to make sure that your stay with us is as comfortable and relaxing as possible. Fishing for information is just a part of the job. How else can I make one's stay here comfortable if I know nothing of their likes and dislikes?"

Kurama frowned and looked at Delilah. She frowned and shrugged her shoulders. Great... she wasn't expecting this either. So... there were things that even she didn't know about Underground. This was going to be a little bit more harder than either of them had thought.

))_))_

And End of Chapter Three: Getting To Know Each Other 2. Now... I had to give you a bit more background on Delilah before I could get into the actual mission and so I am hoping that you were able to follow everything. Now... They have arrived in the Demon World to get the prisoners free. Will they be able to pull off the greatest undercover mission known to the Spirit World, or will they be discovered and thrown through the emotional ringers of hell? Kurama, Hiei and Delilah are all the same height as their normal forms. However, please keep in mind...

Kurama= **Undercover name:** Akihito. **Hair: **Short blonde, cropped. **Eyes: ** Stormy grey eyes.

Delilah= **Undercover name: **Rayne. **Hair: **Black curls to mid back. **Eyes: **Dark green eyes. **Other facts: **Ultra curvy woman, large breasts, long legs.

Hiei= **Undercover name:** Feilong. **Hair: **Mid back length blue hair. **Eyes: **Bright blue eyes. **Other facts: **described as short and stumpy.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The only thing that is the same for them is their heights. Their voices have all changed and so have their appearances. I hope that you can all keep up, because in the next chapter I will only be using their code names. Hiei may only play a small part in the next chapter, but I promise that he will be back in full force soon enough. So please enjoy and have a nice one. Ta Ta For Now.


	4. Chapter 4: Operation: Infiltration

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Yu Yu Hakusho series. I only own the original characters within the story and the story line itself. So... last time we were getting to know our characters a little bit more and now that we have a deeper understanding to them... we have moved into the next phase of the mission. Now... Kurama and Delilah must infiltrate the Underground system and try to rescue the victims of Underground's wicked schemes. Note before the chapter begins... They are undercover in this chapter, being watched like a hawk by their "Host" and must remain in character for the remainder of their stay. Will Kurama (Akihito) and Delilah (Rayne) be able to remain in character long enough to do their job? Or will they be discovered and turned into slaves themselves? **_

_**Without further adieu... I give you Chapter Four: Operation: Infiltration. **_

_**Chapter Four:**_

_**Operation: Infiltration**_

"I am hoping that your stay here will be most pleasant, sir," their host said lightly to Kurama as they approached the large building. "We have pulled out all the stops for this occasion. The party alone will be a grand occasion."

Kurama frowned at the young man and shook his head. "I have a feeling that I will be skipping the party. I am in no mood to mingle with the customers here."

Vlad frowned and shrugged his shoulders. "It is your choice, Sir."

Kurama frowned as the trio came to the front of the building. Vlad dismounted from his horse and handed the reins to a stable hand that had rushed out of the barn attached to the back of the building. Kurama followed suit and turned to Rayne. She dismounted as the once red head took hold of her hips. When she was on the ground, she nodded shyly to him. She was able to play the part of the shy slave quite well. He knew that her cover was a big deal, because she had to play the part of the actual slave, but to see her do it, Kurama had to admit that she was quite an actress.

"Your bags will be brought to your room once the horses are settled," Vlad said to Kurama and bowed his head lightly. "After such a trip, the two of you must be tired. Follow me, and I will lead you to your suite."

Kurama nodded and the two followed Vlad into the building. On the outside, it seemed like a convention center, as the building was a large rounded structure. However, once you got into the building, it was open, roomy and quaint. Kurama blinked lightly to see the bright chandaliers dangling from the ceiling at multiple locations around the room. The walls were a bright golden color with white marble floors. Delilah looked around and shook her head. So... Underground really went all out for this event. Not only that... but they live in style. Figures.

Vlad nodded to a clerk at the front desk. He returned to Kurama and Delilah, but had a frown on his face when he approached. Kurama seen the dark, metallic cuffs in his hands and held up a hand. "Do you really think that I would come here without restraining her powers?"

Vlad frowned and shook his head. "All... slaves are required to wear them during their stay here. It is policy, sir."

Kurama shook his head. "The necklace around her neck... it is a fancy energy cuff. She has no power here. Only I can take it off. I assure you that you and your guests are safe."

Vlad frowned and sighed lightly. "Then... I will talk to security. They normally check energy levels to see if the cuffs are strong enough. If her levels read low enough... I am sure that they will have no problem."

Kurama nodded and the three of them headed towards the staircase. There was a security station sat up there, granting access to the staircase only if the slaves are cuffed and levels are low. Vlad stopped them and walked over to talk to the guard. One of the burly men looked over at Delilah and scoffed. He reached onto the counter beside him and grabbed a large, bulky device. He walked over to Delilah and held up the device up to the necklace around her neck. He looked into the screen of the device and frowned.

"It shows that it does restrain her energy levels," the man said to Vlad. "However... I have never seen a collar as elaborate as this."

The man turned back to the pair and looked at Kurama and Kurama stared the man down. "I take care of my pets. I would sell them before I put such a gaudy device upon them."

The guard smirked and looked over Delilah. "And such a beauty deserves a beautiful collar." The man turned back to Vlad and shrugged his shoulders. "I will allow it this time only, Vlad. If anything happens... it is on your head."

Vlad smiled lightly and bowed his head to the man. "Thanks a lot, Claude. I owe you one."

The man named Claude nodded and the trio were granted access to the staircase. Vlad smiled as he allowed his guests to walk before him. Kurama turned to Vlad and smirked. "I take it that the two of you are friends."

Vlad smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "We grew up together. We became rivals. And now it is a constant game of tug of war with him. I owe him, he owes me..." Vlad chuckled lightly. "Story of my life. What about you... when did the two of your paths cross?"

Delilah came to the top of the stairs first and stepped beside Kurama. She was still looking around and was barely paying the conversation any attention. However, she knew their background story, so she was able to ignore it.

Kurama smirked as he and Vlad stopped at the top for a moment. "Well... My mate of thirteen years died suddenly and so... I got bored. I went to a slave auction and well... seen her, she was as feisty as my late mate and just had to buy her. I traded slaves before that, but none were able to stick as long as her."

Vlad looked at Rayne and seen that she was leaning over the railing looking at several people down below. Kurama turned to her and smirked. "She never ceases to surprise me. All I can say is that it is never boring with her."

"Sounds like you love her more than your other slaves," Vlad pointed out.

"I never said love," Kurama said coldly. "I simply said that things are never boring with her. After twelve years, she still talks back every now and then, has the temper of a rattlesnake at times and yet..." Kurama turned back to Vlad after glancing at Rayne. "Can never say no."

Rayne looked at him and scoffed. "If this collar wasn't on I would."

Vlad chuckled as he seen Kurama point his hand at her as if silently saying you see what I mean. Delilah shook her head as she turned back to the full conversation. Vlad led them down a long hall and stopped at a set of large double doors.

"Here we are," Vlad said as he pressed the card key into the mechanism. "This will be your suite while you are here, Sir and Miss."

He pushed open the doors and walked into the room before them. Delilah's jaw dropped as they looked around. It was an elegant suite, gold and red colors draped the room. The walls were a soft gold and red that were a subtle contrast to the cold white marble floors. Vlad turned to them and cleared his throat lightly as he began to rattle off the times of the upcoming auctions.

"As you can see your suite is large enough to accommodate any and all of the slaves that you may purchase through the auctions," Vlad swung his arm and gestured to the right. "There are three opened bedrooms to the right of your main suite, along with bathrooms to accommodate each one. There are two more, located next to the Master bedroom, and a large bath room to accommodate them."

Kurama nodded as he listened to the man, looking around the room as the young host went on. He finally got a good look at the man that had accompanied them for a while. Outside the man seemed like a gangster, a sinister sounding voice and his burly appearance. However, Kurama realized that the man was not burly at all. He was tall and lean with a deep voice. It was like honey though, not sinister in the least. It was welcoming and humble. The voice of a true servant to the darkness of the Underground. That was a deadly combination, in Kurama's eye.

"Seems reasonable enough," Kurama said flatly. "And YOU will be hosting us during our stay here."

Vlad nodded and smiled. "As a VIP, your host remains at your side to tend to anything that you should need. Of course, I have my own quarters, so you do not have to house me here. However, Hosts have many jobs with each VIP. Should you ask it of me, I would stay here. As your Host, I am to see to your EVERY wish, dirty or not."

Kurama smirked and shook his head. "I didn't bring her along for nothing."

Rayne frowned at him and crossed her arms. She walked farther into the room and looked around. Vlad bowed his head lightly and told them that he was going to retrieve their belongings downstairs. He closed the door behind them and Kurama sighed lightly.

"He seems like the energizer bunny on steroids," Delilah said flatly. "And for your information... I am not here for your entertainment!"

Kurama smiled and grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into his arms. "Actually my dear... you are only here for my entertainment."

_"Geez, get a room," _Hiei said into Kurama's ear suddenly and sighed lightly. _"Next auction is at ten tomorrow morning. That gives the two of you six hours to prepare for anything. Koenma has approved all financial support for each auction."_

"Yeah, yeah," Kurama said and released Delilah and she knew that it was Hiei that was talking to him then. She growled lightly and walked away, walking over towards the large roaring fire.

Kurama looked at her and frowned. There was something off about her, and it had nothing to do with her staying in character. He walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. He leaned over her shoulder and looked into her face. "You okay?"

She shook her head. "This place gives me the creeps. I just want to leave already."

Kurama nodded and sighed lightly. He heard the young host return and leaned his chin on her shoulder. "Alas... we just got here, my pet. There is plenty of time for that later."

Vlad cleared his throat at the door and Kurama turned to him. Vlad held out his bags and walked into the room. "As promised sir, your bags. Is there anything else that I can bring you? We have a fine banquet in the hall. Should you wish to skip tonight's party, I could have the chef prepare a special meal for the two of you."

Kurama nodded and the boy grinned. Kurama was starting to wonder just how old that boy was. He seemed like an adult when it came to his service to others... however... when he smiled like that it reminded him of a young boy, a teenager perhaps. He would have to get to the bottom of that later.

"As stated earlier, I am in no mood for a party," Kurama stated. "However, a quiet meal sounds ideal right now."

Vlad sat the bags on the table and bowed lightly. "I leave you to settle in, Sir. I will personally see to your meal and that it gets to you at a reasonable time."

Kurama nodded and watched the boy leave. Kurama smirked lightly and turned back to Delilah. She had a look on her face that was almost comical. "See, energizer bunny."

Kurama nodded and sat on the couch before the fire. "Yeah, well, being a host... you kind of have to be energetic and open. Friendly and charming all in one. Hence, the energizer bunny effect."

Delilah looked at him and sat next to him on the couch. "Sounds like you know about this first hand."

Kurama shrugged his shoulders. "As a young teenager in the demon world... I tried it out. It was fun for a while but things got too serious at times. If I didn't treat a customer as I was supposed to, I was the one that got in trouble for it and finally I had had enough. I walked away and swore that I would never do it again."

"Basically you were a classy escort," Delilah said as she leaned her head against her arm that ran across the back of the couch. "Wasn't as classy as you had expected, huh?"

Kurama smirked and shook his head. "Not really. And you can just say it. I was a male prostitute. I am not proud of that statement, but I am never one to distort the facts."

Delilah chuckled lightly and sighed. "At least you turned out for the best."

"Only after death," Kurama pointed out. "Had that not happened... I don't know what I would have become."

Delilah nodded and sighed lightly as she heard a soft knock at the door. Kurama nodded to her and she stood up. She walked to the door and pulled it open. She frowned as she leaned against the door. "May I help you?"

The large man stood there and crossed his arms. He huffed at her and cleared his throat. "I am here to see your master."

She frowned and looked behind her at Kurama who still sat on the couch. "Are you accepting company, sir?"

"Show them in," Kurama said flatly and he watched as Delilah stepped away from the door and held it open.

The man looked at Delilah as he walked into the room. She closed the door behind him and walked to the bags that Vlad had sat on the table. Two of them were Kurama's and the larger one was hers. She made herself busy as the man approached the fox in disguise.

"Sir," the large man said to him with a slight bow. "It is a pleasure to have you here. My name is the Auctioneer. I do not give out my real name, because frankly... I do not remember it. I would like to personally welcome you here to my fabulous hotel and hope that my boy is giving you the best treatment that he can."

"So Vlad is one of your boys?" Kurama asked. "Interesting. He seemed like a hired hand at first."

"Hired hands indeed," the Auctioneer spat. "The fruit of my loins... never. If he wasn't good at what he did... well... he would be in the next auction if I had any say in it."

Kurama frowned. "And what stops you from making such a call?"

"He is a hired hand," the man said and shrugged his shoulder. "However... I wouldn't mind making a personal trade between two honorable gentlemen. Your slave there is indeed a beauty. When I heard the gossip of the workers here, I had to come and see for myself."

"Rayne is not for sale," Kurama snapped quickly. "If she were... I would have announced that when I got here. She is here for my entertainment alone."

The man turned and looked at the young woman that was folding a long cloak. She ignored him and continued what she was doing. Kurama cleared his throat. "She doesn't like to be stared at. The more you stare, the less likely she will pay you any attention."

The man smirked and turned back to the owner of said beauty. He chuckled. "You like the lively ones, don't you."

Kurama shrugged his shoulders. "I like a variety of things. Perhaps you could enlighten me as to what I can expect during your auctions."

The man chuckled lightly and nodded. "I see that you are a curious one. Well... since you are the first of the VIP bidders to arrive... I guess I can spill the beans about a few."

Kurama smirked and upon hearing the knocking at the door he looked at Delilah and snapped his fingers. She frowned at him and shook her head. She walked to the door and pulled it open. It was Vlad again. She rolled her eyes and seen that he had a bottle of wine and two glasses. She pulled open the door and stepped to the side. He walked into the room and stopped upon seeing the Auctioneer sitting next to his client.

He turned back to Rayne and bowed his head low. "I have seen to your meals, miss. The chef has personally selected this vintage wine to accommodate your meal. Shall I leave it with you?"

Delilah nodded and took the bottle and the two glasses. Vlad quickly bowed low again and left the room without a second glance. She frowned as she peeked her head out of the door and seen him disappear around the corner as if death was on his heels. She shrugged her shoulders and came back into the room, closing the door with her foot. She held up the bottle of wine and smirked. Funny, it had to be a French wine that Vlad had brought to them. Did they really seem French to him.

She walked over to where Kurama and the Auctioneer sat and held out the bottle so that he could see the name. He shrugged his shoulders and simply waved her off. She frowned at him and snorted lightly. She walked to the table where a bucket of ice sat and put the bottle into the bucket. She sat the glasses down on the table and returned to her bags. Although it was not a big bag, it held all of her essentials. At least four changes of clothes. That was a must for her, she did not like to wear the same out fit twice before a good cleaning. She only hopped that they would not be here that long. It was already late in the evening and going to bed was the main objective for her, however, getting rid of that Auctioneer was more of a task than one would think. She sighed lightly and shook her head.

"So everyone for sale at the auction in the morning will be new to the auction world," Kurama confirmed what he had just heard from the Auctioneer. "What, were they all bought through private sales?"

The Auctioneer smiled and shook his head. "Each of tomorrows entries will be unbroken in the ways of slavery. There are twenty three of them, however, they are already going quickly. I have two of them already put on hold for another bidder to approve of upon their arrival. If you would like... I could take you down to see the merchandise before hand. Perhaps... even a private sale, as I suggested earlier."

"And I have said that Rayne is not for sale," Kurama repeated to the man.

The Auctioneer snapped his fingers as though he had just lost a huge bet. "Cannot blame a man for trying. You have yourself a gem there. But I meant no disrespect. Perhaps a preauction sale would be more up your alley, Mr. Akihito."

Kurama rubbed his chin as he considered the man's offer. Perhaps, if he seen any of the victims... Kurama smiled lightly. The sooner he and Delilah could collect those that were missing, the sooner he could go home.

"Well... what is it gonna be? Going once, going twice," the Auctioneer said, holding up his fingers as he counted.

"I guess a sneak peak and a private sale couldn't hurt," Kurama said lightly and the man sitting across from him grinned and slapped his knees.

"Sold," the Auctioneer said and stood up quickly. "I will show you our inventory. If you would please follow me."

Kurama stood up and followed the man to the door. Delilah looked up from where she stood and frowned. "Stay here, my pet. I shall be back soon."

"Yes, sir," she bowed her head lightly and the two men disappeared from the room.

))_))_

The Auctioneer opened the large metallic door and held it open for Kurama to walk through. It was a cold, dark room and Kurama had to suppress a shudder as he entered the dungeon like room. The Auctioneer smirked as he flipped on the lights to the room and an instant wave of groans and howls filled the room. Kurama looked around and seen cages, large enough to hold three or four people and he frowned. These conditions for the people were worse than he thought.

"Rise and shine, kiddies!" the Auctioneer called through the hall and walked down the long line of occupied cages. "As you can see, Akihito, they are still a bit wild. But I have a feeling that a man of your caliber can train them easily."

Kurama smirked and shrugged his shoulders. He was looking at a group of young men in a single cage and shook his head. "Some seem a bit beyond training, if you ask me. Seems like some would only be good as workers. Not the bed."

The Auctioneer shrugged his shoulders. "We do not care what you do with the slaves after you purchase them. After purchase, they are your property. You could resell them, kill them, hell you could even release them. All I care about is the money."

Kurama smirked lightly continued down the line until he seen the Auctioneer stop in front of one cage. Kurama stood beside him and looked at the two women and one man standing in the cage. He looked at their faces and recognized the young man as one of the missing villagers. He turned to the Auctioneer and knew that he was going to have to haggle the price with him.

"The two young women," the Auctioneer stated. "They are sisters. They are pure blooded dog demons and have the fangs to prove it. Also... their growls kind of helped with that conclusion. They were picked up a few weeks ago as they crossed the borders into the Demon World."

"What about him?" Kurama asked as it seemed that the Auctioneer was about to move on.

The man shrugged his shoulder and sighed heavily. "The only thing that I can tell you about him is this... he is difficult. He has yet to say a word to any of us and he is refusing to cooperate. He is actually... how should I put this... damaged goods. You see the gold on his finger. He is a mated man. And those kind of people are hard to sell. I mean... unless you have the mate... it is unlikely that you are going to get anywhere with him."

Kurama rubbed his chin and smiled lightly. "And so... if he is so hard to sell... why not bargain with me. I love a challenge."

The Auctioneer smiled and rubbed his fat hands together. "I see that you are a man who loves the chase. Seems like you are a trader. I mean... your woman upstairs proves that... but this..."

"I simply like a challenge," Kurama stated firmly. "How much were you planning to auction him off at?"

The Auctioneer ran a few numbers through his head and shrugged his shoulders. "I was thinking about starting him off at two thousand bucks, you know, see what he can bring in."

Kurama frowned. He was not about to pay that much in a private sale. "Well... you have to look at the bigger picture for your traders. He is going to cost room and board. He will need to be fed, and who knows how long it is going to take to train a man like this. That alone is going to make your price seem too high to risk. I will offer eight hundred."

The Auctioneer smiled and shook his head. "Fifteen hundred."

Kurama shook his head. "Still too high to risk. Eleven hundred and that is final."

The Auctioneer rubbed his chin and looked back into the cage at the young man. The man refused to even look at him, instead, he had slid down the wall and was looking at the ground at that moment. Kurama cleared his throat.

"I highly doubt that you would get a better offer for him," the once red head stated and the man chuckled lightly.

"You have got a deal," the man said and held out his hands. "However... If you take a look at someone else and pay my full price... I will throw him in for free."

Kurama considered the offer. He shrugged his shoulders and the man led him six cages down the line. Kurama looked inside and frowned. Another of the missing villagers. He looked at the young woman who sat with her knees tucked against her chest. She whimpered lightly as the Auctioneer tapped on her cell bars.

"This one here... well, let's just say... she is a wild one through and through," the Auctioneer explained. "She is a feline from the farther reaches of the Demon World. An exotic breed if you ask me. I mean... Tiger demons are a bit rare rougher than most... but I have heard that they are exceptional in the bed."

Kurama looked at her and frowned. She seemed like she was bleeding, but he could not see from where. He shook his head. "Who has been beating her?"

The Auctioneer shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes the guards can get a little rough... but then again... name one trader that hasn't beaten their slaves a bit."

"I have yet to strike a single one of my slaves," Kurama stated flatly as he looked at the man. "I will take her, and the young boy back there. I will offer you four thousand, and that is it."

The Auctioneer smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "You seem to know the barter system. The rarer the jewel, the more you are going to pay. I will accept your offer and they will be sent to your room."

"I would prefer to take them myself," Kurama stated boldly and crossed his arms. "As you said... the guards can get a little rough. And I would prefer my property to be in good shape."

The Auctioneer shrugged his shoulders and chuckled. "Very well. I shall be back in a moment."

The man walked away and Kurama sighed lightly as he looked back into the cage. The young woman had shifted her position to press up against the wall. He frowned and crouched to her level. "You will be alright. I am not going to hurt you."

The young woman flinched as she turned away from him. He sighed lightly and shook his head. He was going to have to leave her in Delilah's care and that was going to be the only way that she was going to trust him. Oh well... he had kind of figured that was going to happen with a few of them. At least he was able to get a few of them before the auctions even began. Kurama stood up as he heard the man approaching with a set of keys. The Auctioneer pulled the cage door open and walked inside. Kurama watched as the young woman whimpered as he unlocked the chains around her wrists. The Auctioneer stepped out of the cage and Kurama shook his head. This man was a coward. The once red head stepped into the cage and crouched beside the young woman. She looked up at him and frowned.

"Come on," Kurama said and reached out for her. "I won't hurt you."

The girl seemed leary of him and pressed farther into the wall. Kurama sighed lightly and knew that he was going to have to force her out. He reached for her again and despite her whimpers and pleas to be released, Kurama wrapped his arm under he knees and then pulled her against him. Instinctively, her arms wrapped around his neck and she pressed against him. Kurama stood up with her in his arms. He turned and walked out of the cage. The Auctioneer closed the cage behind Kurama and the young woman in his arms, then turned on his heels and walked down to where the other young man was housed.

The Auctioneer unlocked the cage and then unchained the young man. He led him out of the cage and turned to walk out of the cage. The Auctioneer smiled lightly at Kurama and the four headed out of the dungeon like cellar. There was no words on the way back to Kurama and Delilah's room and Kurama was grateful for that. He didn't want to speak harshly in front of the two prisoners, he wanted them to trust him.

As the small group walked through the door to the bedroom, Delilah looked up from reading her book and frowned. She sighed lightly as she seem Kurama walk directly into one of the adjoining bedrooms and sat the young woman on the bed. "Rayne, come."

Delilah sat her book to the side and walked into the room. Kurama looked at her and she nodded to him as she brushed past him. Kurama turned and walked out of the room as Delilah sat on the edge of the bed beside the young woman. The young woman flinched at her slightest touch and Delilah frowned.

"It's alright..." Delilah said gently. "I am not going to hurt you."

"Ne me touchez pas!" the woman snapped as Delilah touched her arm. [Author's Notes]

Delilah smiled. "Ahh, vous parlez francais." [Author's Notes]

The woman blinked up at Delilah and nodded lightly. Delilah was thankful in that moment that she was fluent in French. At least she was able to communicate with the young woman. She reached over and touched the young woman again, only this time, the woman barely flinched at the touch.

"Je ne vais pas vous faire du mal," Delilah told the young woman. "Je vex juste aider." [Author's Notes]

The woman opened up to Delilah and the young blood demon cringed at the markings that covered the young woman's body. There were deep lacerations to her arms, some that had healed, and some that hadn't yet healed. Delilah spent the next thirty minutes cleaning each of the visible wounds until the stench of dried blood was gone. During the time it took to clean the wounds and help the woman to clean up, Delilah had only learned several things about the young woman. First off, she learned that the woman was extremely shy, Delilah had to coax the young woman to talk the entire time. The next thing that she learned was that the woman COULD understand everything that was being said, but that didn't mean that she really knew what the words really meant.

"You feel more comfortable speaking your native language, huh," Delilah said to the young woman and was granted with a gentle nod from the woman. "What is your name?"

"Elisabetta," the woman replied.

"Very well, Elisabetta," Delilah said after changing the woman into a clean shirt from her own wardrobe. "Dors, maintenant. Vous sentirez mieux quand vous reveillez." [Author's Notes]

Delilah stood up and walked back into the main room where Kurama sat on the couch talking to the young man that he had "purchased". Kurama looked up at her as she entered the room and tapped the couch beside him. She nodded lightly and sat beside him with a heavy sigh.

"What did you learn about her?" Kurama asked.

Delilah shrugged her shoulders. "Her name is Elisabetta. She is a French native and doesn't like to talk much."

The young man chuckled lightly. "You seriously cannot expect any of us to just open up to you right off the bat."

Delilah frowned as she looked at the young man and shook her head. "You seem to have no problem with that."

Kurama sighed lightly and gently nudged Delilah in the ribs. "Be nice. Victor here hasn't been here as long as some of the others."

The young man across from her shrugged his shoulders and leaned back into the couch. "I figure being purchased so early was better than staying in that wretched cage. Might as well speak to the ones that got me out of there."

Delilah sighed and leaned her head against the couch. "Can we go home yet?"

Kurama chuckled and shook his head. "Not yet, my pet. We have only just begun our little adventure here."

The young man across from the pair frowned as he looked at them. That didn't sound all that good. Victor was thinking that maybe he was better off in that cell after all.

))_))_

The next morning was a blur. Delilah woke to tend to the young Elisabetta and see that she was comfortable. Victor had slept in the main room the night before, snoring lightly beside the blazing fire and had yet to wake that morning. Kurama gathered his thoughts about the coming day, knowing that he and Delilah couldn't skip the first auction. They had to get as many of the prisoners out as he possibly could. After speaking with the Auctioneer the night before, Kurama had learned that the VIP auctions were extremely private. There were only eight possible VIP bidders at each of the auctions. The VIPs were each held in a small room, cut off from the rest. It was a privacy issue with many of the VIPs. Inside each room were several items. A single chair and table beside it, one pillow for each "pet" that was brought to the auction, and a large double sided mirror that seemed to create an octagon with each of the others rooms.

Kurama was also grateful that Vlad was there with them. As their host, Kurama had learned that Vlad would be in the room as well, going to collect the slaves after purchase, tending to their needs while the auction took place, and even offering a little insight to the entire thing. The red head had to give the boy some credit... he knew a lot about the auctions.

"The rooms are connected in a large octagon pattern," Vlad explained. "Each room is almost identical, each of the windows connect at the edges of each mirror to the room next to it. Thus, giving the octagon appearance. The windows show you the slaves, and because it is a two way mirror... no one can see who else is bidding. The only way that you know is the red lights above each window."

Kurama looked around the inside octagon and indeed saw the lights above the rooms. So that was how he was to determine whether he was highest bidder. That was not going to be easy. He knew the insides of an auction... however, he had a feeling that he was in for a rough time with this type of auction.

Vlad poured him a glass of wine as Kurama took his place in the plush leather chair. Delilah sat on the large, velvet cushion beside the chair and sighed lightly. After her years of training in the armed forces, and all of her years as a detective and undercover officer... she never thought that she would ever stoop to this level. But... a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Inside the space between each of the VIP rooms, there was a flash of red and white before the lights came on. Inside, stood the Auctioneer and he stood proudly with his long flowing cape wrapping around him like a glove. Kurama rolled his eyes at the flamboyant man in the center ring.

"Thank you ladies and gents," the Auctioneer began as he spoke into a microphone. "The Auction is about to begin. Remember the rules of the Auction is simple. This is a blind Auction. That is right, no one will see your faces so you may bid in private. Of course the bidding will start low and continue to climb as high as it will go, and the prize will go to the highest bidder. Are yall ready to get this thing started? Well, if not... then you have come to the wrong auction house my friend."

Again, Kurama had to role his eyes at the man. He seemed like a reasonable man the night before, however, this man was a nut job. He was childish in his announcements, joking around with the audience as if he was at a circus. This was indeed going to be a long day.

))_))_

The End Of Chapter Four: Operation Infiltration. I hope that you all liked. I hope that you are staying tuned for this one. It will be a jaw dropper when it all comes together. In the next chapter, after the auctions are finished, will Kurama and Delilah be able to make it out of there without being detected? What happens when Delilah gets separated from Kurama? Will she make it out as well?

Stay tuned to find out. Please give me your comments and reviews. I accept any and all comments that I am given. Please, do not be afraid to speak your mind.

AUTHOR'S NOTES!

Translations for earlier speech. They are all French translations, again brought to you by Google Translate, so no haters if it is wrong.

"Ne me touchez pas!" - translates into "Do not touch me!"

"Ahh, vous parlez francais," - translates into "Ahh, you speak French."

"Je ne vais pas vous faire du mal. Je vex juste aider." - translates into "I will not harm you. I just want to help."

"Dors, maintenant. Vous sentirez mieux quand vous reveillez." - translates into "Sleep, now. You will feel better when you wake.


	5. Chapter 5: Operation: Infiltration 2

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Yu Yu Hakusho series. I only own the original characters and the original story line. There are translations in this chapter, and each of the meanings will be added to the end of the chapter to make it easier for you all to read. Now... Kurama and Delilah (aka Akihito and Rayne) have gotten into the auction, have already purchased a pair of slaves, and now, they are at the first of a four day auction. Kurama, with Hiei in his ear, manages to gain an upperhand at this auction. Will he be able to bid high enough to win the slaves, or will others bid higher and make the rescue effort that much more harder for them? And what happens when Delilah gets separated from Kurama? Will their covers be blown, or will an unlikely source reunite them?**_

_**And now without farther delay, I give you chapter Five: Operation: Infiltration 2.**_

_**Chapter Five**_

_**Operation: Infiltration 2**_

The auction began quickly after the first announcement from the Auctioneer and Kurama frowned as the young men and women were brought into the middle room. Each one had a large cloak on to cover them until the Auctioneer "beefed up" their introductions. Kurama sighed heavily as he listened to the flamboyant Auctioneer begin rattling off information about the first prize up for bids. It was simple information, but it was all that he needed to connect them to the list of victims in which he was here to follow.

Rayne was with him for this first auction, sitting on the large velvet pillow at Kurama's feet and she groaned lightly. This was not the ideal sitting position, especially not in this form, nor with this outfit. It didn't matter how she was sitting, her dress would ride up and expose her thighs to the young Host standing in the back of the room. He kept stealing glances at her and even though her back was turned, she could still feel him looking at her. She leaned her head against Kurama's leg, letting him know of her unease. He smirked lightly and placed his hand on top of her head, glancing over his shoulder at the young Host.

"Even I can feel you staring at her, Vlad," Kurama said lightly.

The young Host swallowed lightly and chuckled nervously. "Sorry about that, miss. I simply cannot help it, you are so beautiful."

Kurama chuckled lightly and ran his hands through Delilah's soft curls. He looked down at her and smiled lightly. This was the first time that he had touched her in front of the Host. It was a simple touch, however, it was putting her at ease. He could feel the tension in her jaw relax as he ran his hand through her curls.

As the auction carried on, Kurama was disappointed in the amount of slaves that were at this first auction. Considering that he had seen the supply the night before, he was shocked to piece together that what he saw was only a minor fraction of the amount of people down there. He was recognizing some of the people as faces that he had seen the night before, and silently wished that there was something that he could do for each of them. However, Koenma only granted access to the gold for the names on the list.

Finally, a face from the list appeared. Kurama found himself in a three way bidding war with two of the other silent buyers. He pressed his bidding button and found that as soon as he did, another light would come on above another window. Kurama frowned and knew that Hiei and Koenma were watching this. And almost as if on cue, Kurama heard the first voice that morning.

_"Keep bidding. Win her at any cost," _The voice belonged to Koenma.

Kurama nodded slightly and pressed the bid button again. After a few more presses of the button, only one other buyer was bidding against him. Kurama frowned at the price, having already passed the ten thousand dollar marks. He had only brought about fifty thousand dollars in gold... and he had already used some of it. If the prices continued to advance this high... he wasn't going to be able to help these victims very much.

However, after a final press of the button, Kurama was declared the winner and he sighed lightly. In all of his years... even as a Youko... he had never spent eleven thousand dollars on one particular item, human or immobile object. Vlad had informed him before the auction that the payment was necessary before the slave would be released to him, and Kurama had been glad that he had brought his gold pouch with him. Kurama opened the pouch as Vlad approached him from behind and fished out the proper amount. Vlad bowed his head to him and left the room.

Delilah shivered as Vlad opened the door and a cold blast of air entered the room. She frowned as she seen that Vlad had actually left the door cracked open a tiny bit. She growled lightly, vowing that one day he was going to pay for that. Delilah jumped lightly as she felt a fur lined cloak drape over her shoulders. She looked up and seen that Kurama had taken it off and placed it there. She smiled up to him and pulled it tighter around her.

"Thank you," she said lightly and looked back to the floor. It was only a cloak... why did she feel that there was a deeper meaning to it? But then she remembered what she had heard Kurama say to the Auctioneer the night before.

**"I take care of each of my pets," Kurama stated firmly. "I do not lock them in a dungeon until I want to play with them. I treat them as I would treat a child."**

**"So you coddle them," the Auctioneer pointed out. **

**Kurama shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I do... but I have learned that the nicer you are to them, the quicker they learn to trust you."**

**"What does trust have to do with a pet?" the Auctioneer asked. "I mean... come on, they are only pets. It is not as if you love them."  
**

**Kurama again shrugged his shoulders. "I have found that they tend to resist you less when you are kinder to them. I have been doing this for a while, sir, and I find myself worn out by a slave that is full of resistance."**

**"You seem to have a different approach to this entire thing, don't you?" the Auctioneer was amused by Kurama's admission. **

**Kurama smirked and nodded. "I have been cruel to pets, and was met with nothing but resistance. So I changed my ways and have decided that the way I do things now... it is just a lot simpler to train them when they trust you."**

Delilah smiled lightly and leaned back against the leg of the chair. She did feel better to know that Kurama was at least a decent person in disguise as well as in his true form. She jumped lightly as she heard the large door bang against the wall as their Host returned. The young woman was resisting Vlad and pulling at her binds on her wrists. Vlad was trying to be respectful of her and clenched his jaw, and Delilah knew that if she was not out of his grasp soon... something bad was going to happen.

"Get your hands off of me!" the woman snapped and pulled harder.

Kurama nudged Delilah with his knee and she looked up at him. He nodded in her direction and she nodded back to him. She pushed herself off of the pillow and stood up. She walked over to where the woman was struggling against the young Host and she smirked lightly.

"Easy," she said lightly as she held out her hands. "I have no intentions of harming you. Come with me."

Vlad released his grip on her arm and she stumbled forward. She landed in Delilah's arms and instantly tried to pull away from the strange woman. However, Delilah enclosed the woman in a firm, but gentle grip. "It's alright. Come on."

Vlad stepped back out of the room and returned a moment later with a second velvet pillow, this one smaller than Delilah's. Delilah pointed to the floor, and Vlad placed the pillow right in front of hers. Delilah slowly guided the woman to sit on the pillow and sat down on her own.

"Are you hurt?" Delilah asked the woman, but the woman grunted as she pulled out of Delilah's grip.

Delilah sighed lightly and looked back at Kurama. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. She frowned as she faced forward again. She could see that the young woman was shaking, and the shaking was not out of fear. Delilah could see the goosebumps that were raised over her skin and she sighed lightly. Having abandoned the fur lined cloak to acquire the young woman, she looked behind her. She smiled lightly and put the cloak back over her shoulders. She then reached forward and enveloped the young woman in a light hug, thus wrapping the ends of the cloak around the woman as well.

The woman gasped lightly and tried to pull away, however, Delilah held her still, and after a moment, the woman ceased her struggles. "Easy, you are going to be alright."

The auction continued, and again, Kurama ended up purchasing two more, by Koenma's personal orders. He frowned, he had yet to hear Hiei's voice on the other end. Perhaps the fire demon had yet to come in to work yet that day. Kurama looked down at his feet and smirked lightly. Delilah was sitting in the middle of a trio of young slaves, and each of them had fallen asleep on her. She herself was still wide awake, and found herself smoothing the hairs on the two young men as they slept against her hips. The young woman had also fallen asleep against Delilah. Kurama smiled lightly and shook his head. He was wishing that he had a camera at that very moment. She reminded him of a mother, talking gently to each of them, coaxing them each to relax. She was even rocking lightly from side to side and had rocked the young woman to sleep before the purchase of the other two. The auction continued and Kurama was ordered to purchase a last face, this one belonging to a young woman from the Makai. She was a familiar to him, he and Hiei had arrested her father a couple of times for being a public nuisance. After Kurama bid a third and fourth time, Kurama frowned and shook his head. Koenma had ordered him to win the auction, however, the other bidder was driving the price too high. Finally, much to Koenma's voiced outrage that the other man outbid Kurama, the auction came to an end, and Kurama sighed lightly at having lost.

Kurama sighed once again and looked down at the trio of youngsters that he had already "bought". He was grateful that he was able to get a few of them out, but he was not expecting some of the prices to go so high. Especially when one of the prisoners went for a million and a half dollars. That amount for a slave was outrageous, even for a slave owner.

Delilah sighed lightly below him and looked at the trio asleep on her. She groaned lightly and looked up at Kurama. "And, pray tell, how do you expect me to deal with this?"

Kurama chuckled lightly and shrugged his shoulders. "You were the one that put them all to sleep. You figure it out."

Delilah frowned up at him and shook her head. "You really suck sometimes, you know that."

Kurama chuckled again. Over the course of the last two days, he had become used to Delilah's spicy language and her sassy backtalk. When she showed her defiance, Kurama could not help but smile at it. The thought made him smile at the present time. He sighed lightly and knew that he was going to have to help her out, and if he didn't he knew for a fact that he was going to hear about it later on. So, Kurama leaned forward and gently grabbed onto one of the young men. The man woke with a start and squirmed against Kurama's touch. Delilah hushed him by telling him that he was going to be alright. Almost instantly, the man refrained from resistance. Kurama shook his head. There was no end to this woman's capability, she kept showing a whole new side to her and he was sure that it was not going to be the last time.

))_))_

Hiei sighed heavily as he walked into the office. He clocked into the system and walked back to the communications department and frowned as he walked through the doors. The night before, Hiei had set up a single board with the names and pictures of the victims from the list that Koenma had given to Kurama and Delilah. When he walked into the large, darkened room, his eyes went to the board and he seen that six of the pictures that were there the night before were gone. He smiled, Kurama seemed to be on a role. He walked over and sat at the computer monitor and seen the pile of pictures. He seen that there were two piles. He frowned and looked over the pictures.

"What is all this?" Hiei asked as he looked up to Koenma.

Koenma sighed lightly and turned to look at the shorter fire demon. "Kurama was only able to win three against the sharks of the slave trades. The other three were purchased by someone else, and I fear that they may be lost to us. I have sent Yusuke and Kuwabara after one of them. The man left the auction as soon as it ended, and a group of trackers for the department picked up their trail."

Hiei frowned and shook his head. "Those two wouldn't be able to find a rattlesnake until it bit them on the ass."

Koenma shook his head. "Colorful, Hiei. Perhaps I should have sent you and you alone."

"I would have gotten it done a hell of a lot quicker," Hiei said as he lifted his earpiece to his ear. "So... with today's purchases... that brings Kurama's total to... five, right. And three were bought off by other bidders."

Koenma nodded and sighed lightly. "Our list of thirteen has dropped to only five people left. If Kurama fails to rescue at least one or two more... we might have to send you or Delilah in undercover. And I mean... deep undercover."

Hiei sighed lightly and looked to the computer screens in front of him. There he could see what Kurama was seeing. He looked around and smirked lightly. He could see Kurama sitting beside the fire in their hotel suite shaking his head. He only hoped that Kurama was able to succeed during the next auction. He had to... there was no way that he was going to go THAT deep undercover. Having to resort to Delilah's plan b was not what he was looking forward to. Kurama would end up having to trade Delilah for one of the other victims. After sending her undercover, Delilah would be passed through the slave rings and eventually Hiei would have to go in and get her out himself. It wasn't that he hated her enough to just let her go... it was the fact that he personally did not like the idea of going to the auctions himself. He had seen that crap himself a long time ago.

))_))_

Kurama sighed lightly and shook his head. He looked over at Delilah struggling to maintain the peace between the five newcomers in the suite. Two of the young men were being complete jerks to each other and Delilah was stuck in the middle. He could see that she was very close to reaching her limits.

And almost on cue, Delilah snapped. She grabbed one of the young men by the arm and pulled him towards one of the spare rooms to Kurama's right. She tossed him into the room and walked into the room behind him. She slammed the door behind him and Kurama smirked as he could hear several thuds in the room. He could also hear her voice raising as she spoke to the young man. After a few minutes, Delilah walked out of the room and growled lightly as she looked at the other young man. He was sitting there chuckling as he seen the other man walk out of the room.

"I personally do not see what you are laughing about, boy!" Delilah snapped as she stomped to his side. "You are next."

The young man yelped as she grabbed him by the arm and walked him to the same room and slammed the door behind them. She turned both of them and pushed the young man against the door.

"I am going to say the same thing to you," Delilah snapped. "I am not here to babysit a bunch of spoiled little slaves. When we leave here, you will be trained and then you may understand that you mean NOTHING to me. I am not above being a bitch, because I can get away with it. I have earned that right."

The young man swallowed the lump in his throat. "I... I'm sorry..."

"Save it!" she snapped and pushed him against the door again. "Until the time that the five of you are trained, you WILL behave yourselves. If you do not, I will be glad to use you as my personal punching bag. Do I make myself clear?"

The young man frowned at her and growled lightly. "Do you really think that I am afraid of a woman? I could care less that you are the favorite. You and your master will never break me. I have fought too goddamned hard to resist everything else to let a pair of sick bastards like you break me!"

Delilah frowned and shook her head. She tightened her grip on his shoulders and slammed his back against the door again. "Until the time that you are trained... YOU WILL BEHAVE! I will not repeat myself a third time. There will be one less person that leaves this fucking building should I have to repeat myself again!"

She released him and stepped back. "Now... Are you going to behave yourself? Or do I get a chance to sink my claws into that alabaster skin of yours?"

The young man frowned and knew that if he did push her any harder... that she was not above killing him. It would benefit her more if he was dead. She wouldn't have to share her master. Oh well, he decided. He would not let them win. But he valued his life enough to sigh lightly and nod to her. She straightened her shoulders and nodded to the door.

"Out."

He swallowed lightly and walked out of the room with his head hung low. He would play the part of the defeated slave until he had a chance to leave them all.

Delilah came out of the room and crossed her arms as she watched the young man walk over to sit next to the other four slaves. She sighed heavily and was silently grateful that the two young men apologized to each other. She heard Kurama chuckle beside her and frowned as she looked at him.

"Still do not see what is so funny here," she snapped as she walked over to the group and sat next to Elisabetta.

The young woman smiled at her as she returned to tending to the wounds that covered her body. Over the last twelve hours, Elisabetta had opened up to Delilah in ways that were more useful to them than Kurama would ever know. Elisabetta, even though she still spoke to her in French, had told her that she had been beaten by the Auctioneer himself. That the man would come into the cells and "discipline" the slaves should they not be sold in an auction.

The information that was gathered was enough to put the Auctioneer behind bars, however, the Kingpins were the main goal. Kurama knew that much, however, getting the deeper intel was going to require more than just the slaves input. They were going to have to get to the key players of Underground. Kurama was going to have to get closer to the Auctioneer in order to get that kind of info.

Later that night, Delilah and Kurama were invited to a small gathering of slave owners. It was a private party where the owners would trade their slaves or else "borrow" their services. Kurama had assured Delilah that was not going to happen with her. Vlad escorted them down the stairs to the private meeting room and after dropping them off, returned to his other duties. Delilah looked around the room and swallowed lightly. She almost clung to Kurama's arm as he was guided to a booth near the middle of the room. Delilah sat next to him and he put his arm around her. Her hand was on his leg, but under the table, her fingers were tapping Morse code as she silently spoke to him. He was glad that he could understand her.

"Slow down," he told her after a few minutes.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, however, she did slow down enough that he could understand her better. In only a few minutes of being here, Delilah was able to identify three of the players here, two of which were actually familiar to Kurama. However, he knew them both as drug lords, not slave traders. Delilah informed him that the drug cartels that they both ran were for Underground, and the slaves were just for fun.

"Hello there, sir," a young waiter said as he bowed low to Kurama. "May I offer you a cocktail?"

Kurama shook his head and waved him off. "I am not going to be here long enough to enjoy it."

"Yes sir," the young man said as he bowed again and walked away. Delilah shook her head as she looked around the room. There was no way for her to get away and do some investigating of any kind while she was here and that was not good on her part. There had to be a way for her to do something around here.

Kurama sighed heavily and shook his head as he looked around the room. There wasn't really anything that seemed interesting to him, or rather to his alter ego Akihito the slave trader, and he knew that he should get back to the other slaves in the room. He was leery of leaving the five of them alone together. Even though Delilah was able to sort out a bit of difficulties between two of them earlier... that did not mean that the entire problem was solved. Hiei was running facial recognitions on the people in the room and that was pretty much all that could be done here. He did not see any of the three slaves that he was unable to purchase earlier that day. That was the only reason that he had agreed to come here that night. He wanted to see if there was any ways that he could bargain with the buyers.

After about twenty minutes, Kurama decided that he had had enough. He was sick of seeing the slave owners having sex with their slaves in the room, uncaring that there were other people watching them. He and Delilah left the party and walked back to their suite. However, before they were able to get to the room, a man approached Kurama and struck a conversation with him. Kurama recognized the man as a known slave trader, he was actually on the most wanted list back at Koenma's office. Kurama knew that this was a bonus.

"Oh, yeah, Karnataka," Kurama said as he shook hands with the man. "I have heard about you. You are fierce when it comes to the auction scene."

The man chuckled and nodded. "Gotta play hard to get anywhere in this business."

Kurama nodded, much to Delilah's disgust as the man looked her over. Kurama noticed this as well. The man was not hiding the fact either, his entire gaze ran from Delilah's slutty thigh high boots to her ultra revealing dress, the material stretched taught against her large breasts. She frowned as she shifted beside Kurama and scoffed lightly. Kurama cleared his throat and shook his head at the man as his gaze returned to Kurama.

"The last man that gawked at her like that walked away with a higher pitch to his voice," Kurama warned. "And she is not above doing it again."

The man frowned as he looked at her. "You would dare strike another man!"

Kurama frowned at him and put his arm out to defend her. "It was something that I taught her to do. No other man is allowed to stare at her like that, no other man is allowed to touch her, other than me."

The man scoffed and shook his head. "Not like a slave trader to allow his slave to show such a resilience. It is odd, Mr. Akihito. But I can see why you would allow such a thing. It is a manner of defense to you, in a manner of speaking."

Kurama nodded and felt Delilah shift behind him again. She folded her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes as she leaned against the wall beside her. This was taking forever. She just wanted to get back to the room, get out of this suffocating dress and relax for the night. She sighed lightly as Kurama and the trader known as Karnataka continued their conversation. The man was at least smart enough not to gaze at her like that again. That was a small victory for her at least.

However, suddenly the wall behind her shifted and Delilah lost her footing, falling backwards into a dark abyss. Kurama turned as he heard her cry out just in time to see the wall close again. He touched the wall and frowned, slamming his hand on the wall in frustration. What the hell just happened? She had just leaned against the wall for a moment... shit.

"Trap door," Karnataka said flatly. "The hotel is riddled with them. Mostly used for the servant entrances and such, but... nine times out of ten, they lead downstairs to the basement."

"What is in the basement?" Kurama asked him, knowing that there had to be more than just slaves down there.

The man across from him shrugged his shoulders and thought for a moment. "The last time I fell down there it was just where the servants gather. I don't know, like a wine cellar or something to that nature. If you ask your Host he just might take you there."

Kurama frowned and shook his head. "Excuse me."

The man nodded and watched as Kurama walked towards the staircase, taking them in a hasty pace. The trader shook his head and walked to his room, glad to retire for the night himself. At least it wasn't him that had fallen down that long ass winding pass.

))_))_)

Delilah cried out as the wall disappeared behind her. Her balance was lost and she fell backwards, landing on a slant. She found herself tumbling backwards, hitting stone walls and twists and turns every inch of the way. In all her years of service, never had she felt something so painful. She preferred to get shot to this agony. She tried to grab onto the walls, however the speed in which she fell was too much to grab onto anything. She whimpered as she felt her right elbow connect with the wall and a bone snapped. She grabbed onto it as she continued to slide downwards. She didn't know how long she fell or how far, but it seemed like a lifetime to her.

Finally, her world stilled as she landed on a cold stone ground with a painful grunt. She captured her breath and whimpered lightly as the simple action stung every inch of her body.

"My goodness!" a voice said from her right and the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching her. "Are you alright, deary?"

Delilah groaned loudly as she tried to push herself off the ground. However, her elbow protested and she cried out as the pain shot through her shoulder and down her back. "Ow... no... it hurts..."

The woman that had run to assist her wanted to help her, but hearing her claim that something hurt made her stop. If something was broken, the maid was not going to be blamed if any further damage was done. The maid looked around the room as she heard footsteps in the distance. She heard two of the young Hosts coming into the cellar chuckling lightly at one another.

"Help!" the young maid cried as she turned to see them approaching.

The two young men rushed to her side and seen that the one that needed help was actually someones' slave. They stepped back for a moment, the fear of her owner's wrath was enough to halt them. Delilah groaned lightly as she used her left arm to slowly push herself up off the ground. The two Hosts each took her by the arms and sat her upright. She cried out as she leaned back against the cold stone walls. She felt her world tilt and knew that she must have hit her head along the way somewhere, because she felt like she was going to puke.

"Jesus... Rayne..." a familiar voice said as he brushed her hair out of her face.

Delilah looked up and winced as her sight fell onto the young face of the Host. "Vlad?"

He sucked in a breath as he looked over her. He could see that there were clearly a few scrapes on her shoulders and on her arms. Her right arm was cradled on her lap and her breathing was labored in pain. He frowned as he looked at the young maid beside him.

"Lindsay, I need you to get me the first aid kit," he told her quickly. "Boil some water and bring a second bucket of cold water. James... help me get her to the kitchen. I need the light to clean the wounds."

The young woman nodded as she stood up and ran out of the room. The second man, James, scooted to her side and she shook her head as he reached for her arm. "My arm... I think it's broken..."

"We've got to move you, Rayne," Vlad said softly. "I know that it is going to hurt, but it has to be done."

She groaned lightly and nodded, knowing that the young man was right. She braced herself as James and Vlad put her arms over their shoulders and wrapped their arms around her waist. They worked together and both men stood up at the same time, lifting her off the ground. She cried out, the move making her head spin again and the pain shot throughout her body. The two men then lifted her in their arms and together they walked down the darkened cellar towards the warm kitchen.

))_))_

"Please, Mr. Akihito... I will personally send word to the Hosts," the man behind the desk said softly to Kurama as he leaned his head on the table. "I will ask them to locate her and bring her back to your suite."

"I want to go myself," Kurama demanded, he was trying to be calm and collected, but was failing miserably. "She doesn't trust other people. She knows me."

"Sir, I cannot allow a guest into the servant's quarters," the man insisted. "I will have all the Hosts looking for her to return her to you. I assure you that they will find her and bring her back to you."

Kurama sighed and shook his head. "So basically you are telling me to go back to my hotel suite and just wait?"

The man swallowed lightly and nodded. "It is our policy here, sir. I am sorry. I will send word immediately. What was the name of your Host? I will have him looking personally."

"Uhh... Valentino... Vlad Valentino," Kurama frowned. Delilah did not trust Vlad, she had said as much the night before.

"I will send word to him right away," the man said, and to emphasize this, he picked up the phone and held it to his ear. "I promise you, Mr. Akihito, we will find her for you."

Kurama sighed heavily and walked away from the desk. He knew that the man was right. They all knew the hotel better than anyone. They would be able to determine where she was and would indeed bring her back. Kurama just hoped that Delilah was alright. Karnataka had said that the trap doors led to the cellar, and they were one the fifth floor. That was a long way. Kurama fumed lightly as he returned to the room. The five young slaves looked at him as he walked into the room alone. They frowned, instantly asking where Rayne was. He informed them that she was on her way. With that, Kurama sat on the couch and sighed heavily. He could only hope that he was right.

))_))_

Delilah hissed as she looked at Vlad. "That hurts!"

He winced lightly and he gently dabbed the warm cloth on a cut that was on her arm. She groaned as she looked at the young woman beside her. She was wrapping her elbow and arm where the fracture was in her arm. After examination, it was determined to not be broken, just fractured. She whimpered lightly, looking down at the young man at her knee. Even though she had been wearing thigh high boots, they had ripped and a deep cut was located just above her knee. Delilah looked at the trio tending to her wounds and frowned. This was an odd turn of events. Just the night before she was tending to a young woman that seemed to have had no care in her stay here, and yet, here she was being tended to by THREE people. If they could tend to her, why not the slaves?

A man walked into the room and Delilah frowned. It was the Auctioneer.

"Ah, I see that you have already gotten the message," the flamboyant man said. "Get her back to her master before he has a heart attack."

Vlad looked over his shoulder and nodded. "I am in the process of treating the wounds, sir. I will be sure to get her back to her master soon. I promise."

"I could care less about the wounds," the Auctioneer snapped. "Do as I say, and take her back to her master!"

Vlad sighed heavily as he shook his head. "With all due respect, sir... I would hate to take her back to her master and he get pissed off that we didn't take a few minutes to tend to her wounds!"

The Auctioneer frowned and crossed his arms at the young man. "You insolent little bastard. Tend to her wound AFTER you take her back to her master."

Delilah frowned as she looked at the man. "Please, sir... they are almost done. I will be sure to inform my master that you were the one that instructed them to tend to me."

The man frowned and sighed heavily. "Fine. Do as you will. But as soon as you are done, get her back to her room, and then get your scrawny ass back to work, Vlad. I pay you to work, not gamble with the other Hosts in the back room!"

Vlad nodded, but did not reply. He looked back at Delilah and continued to treat the cuts on her arms and shoulder. The Auctioneer walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

"Fucking prick," Vlad said lightly. "I am sorry that you had to see that, miss."

Delilah shook her head with a wary smile. "Trust me, I have no intentions of boasting that asshole's ego any farther than it already is. I fear his furry little head will explode."

The trio chuckled around her and Vlad smiled as he applied a wound sealant to her wounds. "This is not a permanent cover, Miss. Please, have someone wrap them properly when you get back to your master."

She nodded. "Thank you for your help."

The young Host stood up and sighed lightly, "Very well. It is time to get you back. You ready?"

Delilah sighed heavily and nodded. "As I will ever be."

She frowned as she seen Vlad bend over and lift her off the chair. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck as he adjusted her in his arms. She winced at the shift in her position and he apologized lightly. She shook her head and told him to go.

Vlad pressed the elevator button and waited for a moment. He sighed lightly and shook his head. "This will take forever. The elevators will go to any other floor called before coming here."

"I think I can walk," Delilah said lightly. "If we take the stairs..."

"It's alright," he said as he turned to the staircase beside the elevator. He started walking up the stairs and Delilah continued to protest against him carrying her all the way to their floor. "Miss, please. You are not heavy, and I am your Host. I am paid to tend to ANYTHING that you need. To be honest, I have been a little bored, since your master brought you along, no offense."

"None taken," she said sarcastically. "So... you normally take care of the masters if they come alone?"

He smirked lightly and shrugged his shoulders as he hit the first floor landing. "If it requested of me to do so. As a Host you are required to answer any request that you are asked, no matter how outrageous it may seem at the time."

Delilah frowned. "So, should Master have requested it... you would have done anything that he asked. Even if it went against everything you stood for?"

Vlad nodded and sighed. "The Auctioneer put me up as a Host because I didn't have any other skills. I can be polite, charming, helpful to others when I have to be... but other than that... I am not of much use here."

"Have you ever considered to quit?" she asked him as they hit the second floor landing. "Or are you as much of a slave as the rest of us?"

Vlad nodded. "If it was my choice, I would have been gone years ago... but as you say... I too am a slave. I may not only use my body to satisfy others, but in every other sense of the word, yes I am a slave."

Delilah looked down. She could feel sorry for this young man. He had his whole life ahead of him and yet... here he was, stuck in a never ending cycle of torment and disrespect. The rest of their trip up the stairs was silent, save for Vlad's shoes echoing on the metal staircase in the silent stairwell. Finally, they came to their floor and Vlad walked through the door, Delilah opening the door for him as his hands were already full. He smirked and shook his head. He could have just used his back, considering it was a push-bar to open. Vlad stopped and stood against the wall as two patrons of the hotel passed. He nodded his respect to them and they completely ignored him.

Delilah chuckled lightly and shook her head. "Poor baby. Completely ignored."

He smirked as he continued down the hall to her room. "I am quite used to it ma'am. Trust me, it doesn't bother me."

She frowned and sighed lightly. "You are required to take care of our EVERY need, correct?"

Vlad nodded and looked at her. "Yes ma'am. Any request that master, or slave, should make. However, requests made by a slave must be approved by their master."

"And if I were to request that YOU be the one to tend to my wounds... and Master agreed... you would do it?" she asked.

He nodded. "Of course. However, I have already done so, Miss. I do not think that there is anything else that I would be able to do for you."

"But if it was a request, you could not disobey," she pointed out as they came to her door.

"Correct," he said. "Are you trying to get me to stay, Miss?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "It would cure your boredom."

Vlad smirked and nodded. "Touche'."

Vlad knocked on the door and Delilah frowned at him. "I could have just opened it, you know."

After a moment, the door opened and one of the young slaves' eyes widened at the sight. He quickly pulled the door open and allowed them access. Kurama looked from the window as Vlad walked into the room. He seen that Delilah had bandages on her arms and frowned. Vlad walked over to the couch beside the fire and gently sat her on the couch as they all heard the door click closed behind them. Vlad quickly apologized as she winced.

Kurama came to stand before the couch that was opposite of her. He looked down at her and frowned. "You look like hell."

"Been there too, Sir," she said softly as she leaned back against the couch cushions. "It's not bad though, Sir. Just a few cuts and bumps and bruises."

Kurama sighed lightly and turned to Vlad. "I am surprised that my demands were met quickly. I do appreciate your help, Vlad."

Vlad bowed his head low and smiled. "If I could not do so, what kind of a Host would I be?"

Kurama smirked. He looked back to Delilah and then back to Vlad. "Although I am surprised she didn't leave a few scratches on you."

Delilah chuckled lightly from the couch and shook her head. "I think the claws were filed down during my shortcut to the cellar."

Kurama frowned as he looked at her hands and seen that indeed her left hand was covered with a bandage. He shook his head and sighed. "What the hell was that trap door doing there anyways?"

Vlad shrugged his shoulders and swallowed lightly. "Most of the time we use them as a quick access to several different floors. But the one that she fell down... it hasn't been completed yet. It is still just raw materials."

Delilah scoffed. "Figures I find the uncompleted one."

She sucked in a breath as she shifted on the couch. "Um... Master... A word, please."

Kurama blinked. That was sudden; normally she would just say whatever she wanted to say. He walked to her side and sat on the couch beside her. She turned so that only he could see her face. She winced at the movement, but did so nonetheless.

"I have seen how Vlad is treated firsthand," she whispered. "Please, don't send him back. I asked him if he could treat my wounds, but the request has to be approved by you."

Kurama frowned and looked at Vlad and then back to her. "What is this all of a sudden? I mean, it does seem that there are a few here that he doesn't get along with..."

"No... Vlad is a complete sweetheart... it was the Auctioneer who is a complete jerk," Delilah said. "He was treating me downstairs and the Auctioneer was not having it at all. He just kept telling him to get me back here. As it is... I cannot tend to my own wounds AND the others'. Please, let him stay to help with that."

Kurama sighed lightly. "You and your bleeding heart."

She smiled. "Please. Just let him stay. It would benefit us both. You will not have to worry about me, and you would not have to worry about the others."

Kurama looked up at Vlad and sighed again. "Alright. I will make the request."

"I already did," Delilah said. "All you have to do is approve of the request."

Kurama nodded and stood up from the couch. He walked over to Vlad and seen the young man swallow lightly. "It seems that your skills are needed for the evening. I approve of her request, if you will stay."

Vlad bowed lightly again and smiled. "It will be an honor, sir."

))_))_

End of Chapter 5: Operation: Infiltration 2. I know it was kind of long and drawn out, but it was necessary. And so, Delilah and Kurama have been reunited and the five slaves are going to be tended to by Vlad. What happens after the auctions come to a close and Kurama and the others leave? Will they get away before their covers are blown, or will the Auctioneer suspect them and stop them before they leave? Stay tuned to find out next time in Undercover.

Please leave your comments and your reviews. I appreciate any and all of you for your comments and your reviews and look forward to getting to each of your requests. Do not be afraid to speak your mind. Just... no flaming... okay. That pisses me off.

Ta ta for now.


	6. Chapter 6: Operation: Freedom

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from the Yu Yu Hakusho series. If I did, trust me, there would be lots and lots of YAOI, hehe. Now... Kurama and Delilah have completed one of the three auctions and have only managed to rescue five of the original thirteen. With their list dwindling down, Kurama and Delilah have no choice but to leave and hope that their next efforts will be better. What happens when they do leave, though? Will they get away without their covers being blown? Or will the Auctioneer grow suspicious and stop them from leaving? And what happens to Vlad? **_

_**Without further delay, I give you Operation: Freedom.**_

_**Chapter Six:**_

_**Operation: Freedom**_

Two days later, Kurama sighed heavily as he returned from the last of the two auctions. He only had two more young slaves in tow and that was not encouraging. Kurama had lost the other three to higher bidders and that just meant that his job was going to get a whole lot harder when he got back to Koenma's office. Delilah was sitting on the couch next to Elisabetta and another young slave. He was on the ground, rubbing Delilah's foot and Kurama shook his head as he closed the door behind him, Vlad and the two slaves.

"I bought them for MY entertainment, Rayne," Kurama said sternly as he peered at her over the back of the couch. "Not yours."

She looked up at him and smiled. "Thorne asked if I wanted a foot massage and I accepted. Get over it. Besides... you were not here to give me one, so..."

He shook his head and sighed lightly. "We will be leaving tomorrow morning. Are you going to be alright riding your own horse?"

She nodded and looked up at him. "I do believe that I can manage, Sir."

He nodded and walked over to the fireplace. He looked into the dancing flames and sighed heavily again. During three different auctions and even a private sale before the auctions, Kurama had only managed to acquire seven of the thirteen names on the list. He was hoping for a few more than that, however, there were others here willing to pay a hell of a lot more money than he had. At least Hiei was able to acquire some more useful information about some of the more private bidders. They had revealed themselves as Kurama had left the auctions. Hiei had managed to get clear shots of their faces and were able to get their information. As long as the slaves were not resold before the traders got back to their homes, there were a few more that would be saved.

There was a knock at the door and Kurama frowned as he turned to Vlad. He nodded to the door and the young man walked over quickly. He opened the door and frowned lightly as he seen who it was. The man was not happy about seeing him either. Vlad pulled open the door and the Auctioneer walked into the room, his long flowing black cape like a river down his back.

"You have acquired a nice little collection, Mr. Akihito," the Auctioneer said as he gazed around the room. "A very nice start to your very own ring, don't you think."

"They will not be resold," Kurama snapped. "I bought them for my own entertainment."

The man looked around the room and smirked lightly. "Would you personally be interested in joining my campaign? You have some fine tastes when it comes to slaves."

Kurama frowned and shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, but I am afraid I am going to have to decline. As you can see, I will have my hands full for a while."

"Perhaps you can get your other slaves to train them," the Auctioneer pushed. "And it would not be like the campaign would take up too much of your time. Just a few side auctions here and there. You were able to drive up a few of the prices and I am grateful to you for that."

"Driving up the price was not my intentions," Kurama snapped. "I lost fair and square..."

"If driving up the price was not your intention... then what was?" the Auctioneer asked. "I mean... there were a few that suited your likes, and yet you didn't make a single bid on them. However, some of my more recent acquired slaves were more to your fancy. Is there a reason behind that?"

Kurama frowned and took in a small breath. Not now... not when they were this close to being gone. "Not at all, Auctioneer. I am just very picky. I can see potential in each of the ones that I DID bid on. Those that I lost, well... maybe another time. Or perhaps... maybe there will be more in the future. I have yet to fully establish my name, as you well know. I simply wanted to make a few additions to my perfect trio at home."

The Auctioneer sneered at him and shook his head. "Perhaps, but in the meantime... I can establish your name. A man of esquisite taste like yours would be a marvelous addition to the family."

"Again, I have to decline," Kurama said softly. "I may reconsider it in the near future. But at the present moment in time, I do have to say no."

The Auctioneer smiled lightly and nodded. "Oh, and... do me a favor and take that shit head Host of yours home with you. I will give him to you for free. He lacks the social graces of a perfect Host, perhaps he could become a nice butler or hell, even a slave himself."

Vlad frowned at the man that had his back to him. He flipped him the bird and Kurama smirked lightly at the gesture. The rest of the room of slaves giggled as well at the gesture and the Auctioneer turned to look at them. When he turned around, Vlad stood there looking up at the ceiling with his hands clasped behind his back. He looked at the flamboyant man and frowned.

"What?" he asked innocently.

The room giggled and chuckled again. Kurama even had to stifle a laugh. When the Auctioneer turned back to Kurama he shot several of them a glare and Delilah motioned for them all to be quite. The man was already in a bad mood and they all did not need to add to it. The Auctioneer sighed lightly and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I hope that you will come again soon, Mr. Akihito," the Auctioneer said as he held out his hand. "It was a pleasure to do business with you."

"The pleasure was mine," Kurama said as he watched the man turned on his heel and walked out of the room, not before sending Vlad a glare.

The entire room watched the man disappear out of the room and the atmosphere returned to a relative normal. Kurama shook his head as the giggles returned. He walked up the the boy and smacked him across the back of the head.

"Hey!" the boy said softly. "What was that for?"

"Now I can see why he didn't like you," Kurama snapped. "Do that kind of shit in my employ and you will be hanged from the tallest tree in my yard for your insolence!"

... Vlad blinked. "Your... employ... sir?"

Kurama frowned. "You heard him, right. He no longer wants you here and since you DO have some social grace... you could be of some use to me one day."

"So... you're giving me a job?" Vlad was actually surprised. "You really mean it?"

Kurama pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Until I find that you are of no more use to me... yes. BUT... you piss me off the way that you piss HIM off... you will not live to see another day."

Vlad bowed his head and smiled. "Of course, Sir."

))_))_

The next morning started quickly. All Kurama and Delilah wanted to do was go home. Now was their chance. They gathered their belongings and gathered the acquired "slaves" and headed down to the lobby. Vlad met them all at the door, however, he wore a somber look on his face. Kurama frowned upon seeing that look and he glanced at Delilah. She shrugged her shoulders as the group approached the boy. He pulled his bag over his shoulder and looked up at them. He forced a smile and greeted them cheerfully.

"What was that look on your face?" Kurama asked him.

Vlad frowned and shook his head. "This place has been my home for many years... I know that I will not miss it... but I will miss some of the people here."

Kurama sighed lightly. "You will make new friends. Now come along. I want to make it at least half way home before dark."

Vlad bowed his head lightly and walked outside. He ran to the stables and gathered the horses along with the extra team that he had to purchase. There was a cart attached to the new team of horses and it was big enough to fit all of the other slaves. Kurama hoisted Delilah into her saddle and she winced lightly as she sat straight. Kurama personally checked the straps on the horse's saddle, tightening them if they needed to be. Kurama turned and looked back at the other captives and smiled lightly. Vlad had lowered the back of the cart and was helping each one into the back of the cart. One of the young men was already in the drivers' seat of the cart and already had the reins in his hands.

Kurama turned to his horse and hoisted himself into the saddle, his horse protesting under the weight. Kurama looked down at the large beast and frowned. He put a hand on the side of its neck and patted the creature gently. After the slaves had been loaded into the cart and the back was fastened and secured, Vlad walked over to where another one of the Hosts were holding his horse by the reins. He smiled at the young man and hopped into the saddle, swinging his leg over the leather saddle. Kurama turned to the others and then nodded to the three Hosts holding the reins on the horses, two on the cart for the slaves and one holding Delilah's reins. Kurama turned towards the portal of the Spirit World and gently laid his heels into the horse's side. And with that the group was off.

Delilah took up the back of the caravan, with the slaves in front of her. Kurama was in the front, and Vlad was riding side by side with the slaves. She was watching the group, making sure that none of them tried to escape. She reached into the bag over her shoulder and winced lightly as she pulled out a long rope. She laid it across the horse's back and continued to observe the group in the wagon. Should any of them attempt to run, Delilah would hogtie them and throw them back into the cart. And that went for Vlad too. Kurama looked over his shoulders and frowned as he could still see that Vlad held that saddened look on his face. He turned and looked over the other shoulder, turning slightly in his saddle. He looked back to Delilah and she nodded to him.

"Handle it, Rayne," he called lightly.

She nodded and quickened the pace of her horse. She caught up to the side of the cart and beside Vlad. "You okay, Kid?"

He looked at her and smiled lightly. "Yeah. Like I said before, I am just gonna miss my friends, that's all. And I do not know the Spirit World."

She nodded and sighed lightly. It had already been a good three miles from the hotel and she looked around. There were bushes and trees scattered in the distance and she smirked. Even if someone tried to run, there was no where to go. She sighed again and turned back to Kurama in front of her.

"I said to handle it, Rayne," he said as he glanced back over his shoulder.

"Yes, sir," she said and took in a steadying breath.

She kicked her horse in the side and he bolted forward a few steps. She turned her horse to the side and came to a stop before Vlad. He frowned as he too came to a stop. Delilah dismounted from the horse and walked around the horse to stand beside Vlad. She frowned as she reached up and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pulling him to the ground. He landed with a thud and grunted as Delilah landed on top of him, her hands still gripping the front of his shirt. The rest of the caravan came to a stop to watch what transpired between them. The slaves were terrified as they watched Delilah tear the boy from his saddle.

"What the hell?" Vlad asked as he looked up at her.

"I am only going to ask this once," she snapped down at him. "And if you dare lie to me, I am going to beat the living shit out of you. Do I make myself clear?"

He swallowed lightly and nodded. "Yes..."

"Last night you could not wait to leave that wretched place," Delilah snapped. "What the hell happened to change that? You almost seemed upset to be leaving and do not give me that crap about missing some of the people there!"

He swallowed lightly again and shook his head. "I do not know what you mean, Rayne."

She frowned as she lifted him off the ground a bit and then pushed him back down, slamming his back against the tough dirt once again. She heard a squawk from behind her and she looked up. She seen a tiny hawk land on Vlad's saddle as if it was his very own pet. She frowned again and looked back to him.

"That son of a bitch!" she said coldly and replaced her grip onto his throat. "That bastard sent you with us on purpose! What did he tell you?!"

Vlad whimpered lightly under Delilah's assault and he shook his head. "I swear... I do not know what you are talking about!"

Delilah growled at him and tightened her grip around his throat. "I am warning you, you wiggling little worm! I am going to tear out your throat if you do not answer me. What did the Auctioneer tell you?! Tell me!"

Vlad squirmed underneath Delilah's body but seen Kurama and his horse approaching out of the corner of his eyes. He shook his head. "I know nothing!"

Kurama reached out and took the hawk by his legs, retrieving the letter that was attached to his leg. Kurama opened the note and frowned. "Get it done. What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Delilah released his throat, only to grab his shirt again. She balled up her fist and held it up. "Start talking!"

Vlad sighed heavily with defeat. "The Auctioneer approached me last night and told me that I would never be free from them, even if I did leave with the two of you..."

Kurama frowned as he listened. "Go on."

"He told me that if I truly wanted to be free, that there was one last task that he wanted me to do," Vlad shook his head. "He said to kill you both, and return the slaves. The bird was to send confirmation of at least one of your deaths. I swear... I wasn't going to do it! I could care less if I was truly free. As long as I wasn't THERE!"

Delilah looked up to Kurama and he frowned. She looked back to him and looked him over. There was a dagger against his belt and she smirked. She pulled it out of the sheath and looked at the young boy. "So basically... kill or be killed, correct?"

He nodded and looked at the knife in her hand. "Yes... but I said... I was not going to do it..."

Delilah smirked lightly and seen that there was a necklace around his neck. It was one that all of the Hosts wore and she smiled as an idea came to mind. She ripped the necklace from his neck and he swallowed lightly. She sat the medallion on the ground beside him.

"Give me your hand," she snapped.

He frowned and shook his head. "No... please don't..."

"Shut up and give me your hand!"

Vlad trembled lightly as his hand lifted towards her. She grabbed his hand and forced open his palm. He whimpered lightly and shook his head. She placed the blade against the center of his palm and cut the sensitive skin. He cried out as the blade cut through his skin. Delilah ignored his cries, and the gasps from the cart behind her. She drove the blade into the ground beside her and grabbed the medallion. She pressed it into his skin, the boy hissing with pain as the engraved medallion pressed into the wound.

She then pushed herself off the ground and walked to Kurama's side. He held out the bird and she took it from him. She tied the end of the medallion around it's foot and smirked lightly.

"You wanted freedom..." she said as she looked down at him, shoving the bird into the air, letting it fly. "Now you are free."

He watched as the bird flew overhead and back towards the hotel. He looked back to Delilah and frowned as she seen her standing over him with a long rope. He shook his head and held up his hands in defense. "Please don't..."

She shook her head and crouched beside him again. She tethered his hands together and then tightened the knot against his hands. He winced as the rope rubbed against his palm. It was not a very deep cut, but still deep enough to hurt when it was touched. She then stood up and pulled on the end of the rope. He got to his feet and groaned lightly. She pulled him to his horse. He frowned as she reached up and pulled the reins forward, leaving him nothing to hold onto save for his saddle. She nodded for him to mount the horse and he did so, pulling himself into the saddle. He frowned again as she tied the end of the rope to the saddle and then let a part of the rope run along the horse's cheek, until it too was tethered to the reins. Kurama smirked as she walked back to her horse and remounted her charge.

"You handled that well, my dear," Kurama said softly as he turned and headed back to the front of the pack. "Let's move. We are burning daylight here."

Little did any of them know, that the Auctioneer had already received the bird and was frowning at it's package. Instead of proof that Vlad had earned his freedom by killing the two outsiders, he seen the necklace that showed he was a Host. This did not sit well with the Auctioneer. _That brat had ONE last job before I sent him packing... and he couldn't even do that. Oh well... it is not a problem anymore. _The Auctioneer sighed heavily as he went about his business. The two outsiders were strange to him and that too did not sit well with the Auctioneer. The way that Akihito treated his slave girl... it was more like a friendship than Master and Slave. That meant only one of two things. Either, Akihito was a fool and had fallen for his slave... or they were both spies. Either way... it did not bode well for Underground.

))_))_

Kurama sighed lightly as they past the borders of the Spirit World. He smiled as he took in a deep breath, enjoying the salty air that often described the Spirit World. He released the breath and turned back to the group behind him. Delilah smiled lightly as she looked around. Home sweet home. Or at least, partly home sweet home. At least they were back on their home turf. The group continued their journey, having quickened their pace to get to their destination. The sun had long ago set and the moon was now shining brightly over the group. Several of the slaves had fallen asleep in the back of the cart, the others were too excited to sleep as they looked around.

Suddenly, two more riders on horse back came thundering up to them. Vlad frowned as he looked at the two men, one of them was familiar to him. He was a detective that worked for Koenma. Oh shit, so much for his freedom.

"Welcome back, Red," the dark haired detective called out to Kurama. "Nice haul."

Kurama smirked as he looked over his shoulder at the group in the cart. "Better than you have done, apparently."

The detective shrugged his shoulders. "All together... we got eleven. Not too bad."

Kurama nodded as the group continued onward. After another thirty minutes of riding, Vlad swallowed the lump in his throat. This was not the place that he was expecting. This place was Koenma's castle... not some homey mansion on the outskirts of town. What the hell was going on?

))_))_

Soon enough all seven of the slaves were gathered in a large office. Their master and his slave and their prisoner stood before a large desk with a toddler sitting behind it. The seven slaves were terrified, not knowing what to expect. They were purchased by a seemingly nice man, and now... they were standing in a large room that was almost like a jail cell itself. It was a plain office, not much decorated the walls and the cold tiled floor reminded them each of the cells from which they had come.

"Thank you, Kurama," Koenma said to him and bowed his head lightly. "Now... I know that the two of you are dying to return to your natural selves."

"Can I burn this form?" Kurama asked as he pulled off the rings on his fingers. "This form is vile and repulsive."

Koenma chuckled and shook his head. "You might need it again someday."

The group frowned at the odd topic of conversation. They watched their Master and his pet removing their jewels, including the large diamond necklace like collar around Delilah's neck. She sat the gawdy necklace on the desk and stretched lightly. She ran her hand through her fingers through her hair.

"Ugh," she said as she shook her head. "Never again, Koenma. I swear... never again."

The toddler referred to as Koenma nodded and sighed lightly. He waved his hands and a tiny red band around each Kurama and Delilah's neck seemed to come alive and break into the air. They sighed lightly and almost instantly their looks began to change. Delilah shook her head and her black curls began to straighten out, turning blonde as it grew out. Instead of only coming to her mid back, her hair reached out and tickled the back of her knees. She sighed lightly as she ran her hands through her hair, smiling as she pulled some forward. She rubbed her hair against her face and sighed softly.

However, Kurama's change was even more striking. He had short cropped blonde hair moments before and the entire group gasped as they watched it changed to a deep crimson red and with a few shakes of his head, grew out to his mid back. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head. He turned and walked to the back of the office, chuckling lightly. His voice had changed as well. He smiled into a mirror there and sighed heavily.

"I would have to agree with Delilah on this one, Koenma," Kurama turned to the tiny lord. "I will never use that hideous form again."

Delilah smirked as she too noticed that her voice had returned to it's normal state. She too walked to the mirror and smiled to see her own face for once. She had never been a vain person, but when you look into the mirror and DO NOT see your own reflection... one tends to be a little vain in return.

"Now, for a bit of explanation..." Koenma said as he hopped up onto his desk. "My name is Lord Koenma, and the two standing before you are Delilah Pendergast and Kurama Minamino. They are NOT slave traders, they work for me. They have been undercover to rescue the seven of you and a few others that have been taken from the area. After my medical team has examined each of you, you will all be escorted back to your homes."

The group looked at one another and a wave of cheer erupted lightly. The once somber mood of being slaves was gone and a cheerful mood of freedom was back. Until a darker presence entered the room. Several of the members turned just in time to see a shorter, dark man standing there.

Kurama smiled lightly as he seen Hiei standing there in the back. The shorter fire demon frowned at the rest of the group and walked to the front of the group. "You two do realize the dangers of bringing a member of Underground here, don't you?"

Delilah chuckle lightly and shook her head. "He is not a threat, Hiei. You can trust him."

Hiei snorted and crossed his arms as he looked over Vlad. "Yeah, right."

Delilah rolled her eyes and pulled out a knife from her back pocket. She flipped up the blade as she walked over to Vlad, cutting the ropes around his wrists. She returned the knife to her pocket and turned him to face the rest of the room, Kurama and Hiei mainly.

"Introduce yourself," she said and he nodded lightly.

Hiei scoffed. "We already know who he is, Delilah. We have been following your guys every move!"

Delilah nudged Vlad forward and he swallowed lightly before straightening his shoulders and clearing his throat. "My name is Vladimere Valentino. Undercover officer number 263495. I have been working undercover for four years, and it seems that I am a better actor than you two have given me credit for."

Kurama blinked as he looked up at the young boy. "What the hell did you just say?"

Delilah chuckled lightly as she crossed her arms over her chest. "What's the matter Kurama... did you seriously think that we were the only ones undercover at a place like that?"

The room was suddenly empty, as the medical staff had come to collect the freed slaves, and yet... Kurama and Hiei could have sworn that their world just got a hell of a lot smaller. They looked at each other and then back to Vlad.

"Relax," Koenma said. "A second reason to have sent the two of you in was to help him get out. The only way that an undercover can get out of an operation is if their handler goes there themselves and gets them out."

Kurama frowned as he looked at Delilah. "You are his handler?!"

She smiled lightly and shrugged her shoulder. "Four years ago I made the decision to send someone into a deep undercover operation. After a year and a half, I had thought that he was lost to us because his information stopped coming in. When you presented me with the opportunity to find out the truth for myself, I had to take it."

"You knew all along who we were?" Kurama asked. "How?"

Vlad shrugged his shoulders. "Her undercover name has always been Rayne. And I personally know that she doesn't like to be touched, so... yeah."

Koenma cleared his throat and Kurama turned to him, however, Hiei continued to glare at Delilah. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest and stared him down. She frowned and shook her head. She turned to Vlad and smiled lightly.

"I am glad that you are alright," she said lightly.

"Is that concern I hear?" he asked her sarcastically.

Delilah smirked and shoved his arm. "Come on, we have business to discuss."

He nodded and the two of them walked into a private office nearby. Hiei watched them go and before Delilah shut the door she cast him one last disdainful look. Koenma sighed lightly. "I couldn't tell either of you the truth, because it was not my secret to tell. Delilah sent him in four years ago and has regretted the decision ever since."

"That is why you pushed us to use her," Kurama snapped. "You used us!"

Koenma sighed lightly and shook his head. "Kurama, you should know that everything I do is for the greater good of the Spirit World. It is not personal, I just need to get as much control over Underground as I can. We have been working this case for seven years now and I still don't know enough information. I placed Delilah on this case after a year of getting absolutely nowhere. After just a few months, she had information that none of my officers could gather. As you have personally seen, Kurama, she is truly good at her job. She knows when to be kind, she knows when to play the innocent card and then she knows when to be an evil bitch. That is why I asked you to use her. She needed to know the truth about the undercover that SHE sent in four years ago."

"And with good reason," Delilah said behind them. She came out of the room with a pad of paper and a huge grin on her face. "I got the names of the three Kingpins."

Kurama frowned and Koenma blinked at her. "You did?!"

Vlad came out of the room and shrugged his shoulders. "It was not easy to get, that is why I had to cut off my communications. In order to get closer to the Kingpins, I had to appear as innocent as I could. Poor little boy from the wrong side of the tracks, no home, no family and nothing to look forward to in life. However, I do look forward to the day that Underground takes the fall that it truly deserves."

Delilah walked over to Koenma's computer and typed in three names. "Two of the names should be VERY familiar to you two. Muroku runs a section as the Kingpin of the gun trades. Yomi runs a section as the Kingpin of the drug cartels. And the third is a man named Tobias Carmichael. Now, Carmichael is not your average demon. He is what we undercover officers call a Shadow demon. Shadow demons are difficult to detect because they can change their shapes, their faces and everything about them. Shadow demons can disappear and then materialize where ever it is that they want, and capturing one is like catching smoke with your bare hands. You can grasp it within closed fingers... but it can be gone the second you open your hand."

Kurama shook his head. "I have been working for Yomi for many years, Delilah. I oversee many things in his realms. Not once have I heard any mention of connections to a drug cartel."

Delilah shrugged her shoulders. "I guess the peons are not trusted."

Kurama frowned. "What did you just call me? I am not just a peon to Yomi. We were friends, comrades. We fought together, and we still do!"

"Well they do say to keep your enemies closer than your friends," Delilah said softly. "And if I recall doing research on you... it was during a burglary gone bad that Yomi lost his eyesight. Perhaps he harbors a resentment towards you for it."

Kurama growled. "You are such a bitch!"

Koenma and Delilah looked up at him, and Delilah straightened up and looked at him. "Why? Because I am probably correct in my assumptions?"

Kurama shook his head. "You are not only a bitch, but a liar as well. I asked you personally... We spoke and not once have you EVER mentioned another undercover. How the hell can you lie to someone's face like that?!"

Delilah scoffed as she crossed her arms. "I am a professional fucking liar, Kurama. Get over yourself. You were not the first person that I have lied to, and I promise you that you will not be the last. It is what I do, guys. Do not take it personally."

"You are still a bitch," Kurama snapped. "You swore that you had nothing to hide. You lied straight to my face when I asked if you were hiding something that could blow this entire thing out of proportion."

"This is exactly why I lie, Kurama," she snapped. "To avoid shit like this! I lie to get to the truth, if a single lie can gain a single truth, I believe that it is justified!"

"And that is what makes you a bitch," Hiei said flatly. "To think that a lie is not going to hurt someone. Lying to people is bound to turn on you and bite you in the ass."

Delilah shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. She looked at them both and smirked. "What has you more upset, Kurama... The fact that I lied to you... or the fact that you believed EVERY word I did say to you?"

Kurama growled at her again and Koenma sighed lightly. "Enough you two. Yes, Delilah lied to you, but it was only because she is in too deep to pull out now."

"The moment I go undercover is the moment that the lies start to pour out," she said flatly. "I lie to protect those that I care about and nine times out of ten... it is more likely than not the very person that I am lying to."

"Oh, I get it," Hiei said dryly. "To protect us from your lies, you lie directly to us... yeah that makes a hell of a lot of sense."

"If you guys truly knew about my past, you would not trust me," she snapped. "And your trust is something that is needed right now. Yeah I lied to you, but trust me, there is not one person in this fucking room that I have yet to lie to. And that INCLUDES Vlad. He knows that I lie all the fucking time!"

Vlad smirked and nodded. "So often that even I get confused. And I have known her the longest."

Koenma sighed again and shook his head. "Look here, all of you. Kurama, Hiei... I put this mission on YOUR desk because it does fall into both of your departments. Hiei, you are special victims, Kurama you are drug cartels... hello that is up BOTH of your alleys! This is a huge organization and I have to have as many hands on this case as I can!"

Kurama frowned and crossed his arms. "It still doesn't bode well that there is a liar here!"

Delilah rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Get over yourself, Kurama. I lie to everyone, what the hell makes you so fucking special?"

"Because I did trust you," Kurama said lowly as he turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

Delilah shook her head as she looked at Vlad. She nodded to him and he nodded back. Hiei grabbed the boy before he could make a move. "Let him go, boy."

"You have exactly one second to remove your hand or I will cut it off!" Vlad said coldly. "I have my orders and I did not get my nickname for nothing."

"Nickname? What the fuck are you talking about?" Hiei snapped.

"We call him Peacekeeper," Delilah said softly. "He can see all sides of everything, and he can become the mutual party that is needed in a situation like this. So Hiei, let him go."

Vlad slipped from Hiei's grip and followed after Kurama. Hiei turned to Delilah and crossed his arms. "I knew that you were bad news from the start. You seemed too perfect. The perfect record, the perfect family, everything about you was too perfect."

Delilah sighed and shook her head. "Wrong again, Hiei."

He frowned and seen Koenma look down. "Let it go, Hiei. Seriously, let it go."

"No, I am not going to let it go, because unlike Kurama... not once have I ever trusted her," Hiei snapped. "Right now... I want the fucking truth. Why would a perfect little girl like you, turn out like you are?"

Delilah ignored him, but Hiei could see that he was pressing her buttons. Koenma shot him a quick shake of his head, silently praying that Hiei would stop. Koenma knew the truth about her past and he personally knew why she hated to talk about it.

"Oh, come on, Delilah," Hiei said sarcastically. "Perfect little daddy's girl, perfect military record. Come on, Delilah, why do you prefer to lie to everyone instead of telling the truth."

Delilah grit her teeth as Hiei pressed her farther. She knew that he was goading her into snapping at him, but she had to resist. She couldn't flip her lid, not now. Hiei smiled darkly.

"What's the matter? You afraid that your lies will one day get your friends and loved ones killed? Because I can assure you that is exactly what is going to happen unless you start telling the fucking truth!"

Delilah slammed her fists on the desk and glared at him. "Because the fucking truth is EXACTLY what got my entire fucking family killed you little prick!"

Hiei frowned. Oh shit. Delilah came around the desk and crossed her arms. "Is that what you wanted to hear, Hiei? That when I came home from the military, the first fucking truth I told got every single member of my family killed? Is that what you wanted, Hiei? You wanted a fucking truth, here it is... the last truth I ever told to someone ended up being the most miserable decision of my life. I lost my mother, my father, my six brothers and sisters and EVERY SINGLE fucking person that I ever cared about. My entire fucking village paid for the stupid truth that I spoke twenty years ago! I lost my SON, Hiei. I watched that cold hearted bastard run that blade across my little boy's throat, all because I told someone the truth."

Delilah walked past him and pushed through the doors of Koenma's office. Vlad bowed his head low as he and Kurama had heard every word. However, Vlad already knew the truth and had just got through telling Kurama that she had personal reasons for lying about everything. She glared at them both and walked away down the hall, each person that crossed her path was either shoved out of the way or else scrambled to move themselves.

"Damn you, Hiei!" Koenma snapped. "I warned you to back the fuck off!"

Hiei frowned. He hadn't expected that telling the truth was something that could hurt. However, he could see that it could. He looked down, he should have listened to his gut and quit while he was ahead. He shook his head and turned to go after her, but stopped when he seen Vlad standing there.

"I think that you have done enough..." Vlad said and held out his hand. "I know her the best. I will talk to her."

"You were a member of her village, weren't you," Hiei stated.

Vlad frowned and nodded. "Out of two hundred and ninety people, only Delilah and I made it out alive. We have been best friends ever since, and for all of the lies that she tells, there is always a hint of the truth in each one. That is why I can understand her. She trusts no one, but she trusts me. Let me go talk to her, and I will see if there is some way for me to mend this."

Vlad turned and ran off after Delilah. As her friend, he would always be able to locate her. They had a deeper bond than many people would ever understand and one that would never change.

Kurama sighed heavily as he shook his head. "Perhaps... you could have given us a BIT of a warning on that one, Koenma."

Koenma frowned and shook his head. "I did. I told you that she was the way she was for a reason. I told both of you that I trusted her even though EVERYTHING that she did was against what I stand for. I told you not to push her, Hiei. Now you know the truth. She found out a long time ago that the truth really does hurt you. And it really does hurt those around you. She found out the hard way, that the truth can hurt more than a lie can."

))_))_

The end of Chapter 6: Operation: Freedom. Well, I hope that you all enjoyed. The ending of this chapter is building up to the next few chapters and I cannot wait to post them.

So Delilah's past has been revealed and both Kurama and Hiei feel like shit for pushing for the truth. Now that they know, will they all be able to work together to solve the problem that is Underground? Or will the truth of Delilah's past come back to haunt her in more ways than one? Find out next time.

Please leave your comments and your reviews. I look forward to getting to your requests. I appreciate any and all that you have to say, so please do not be afraid of speaking your mind. However, no flaming please, That shit pisses me off.

Ta ta for now.


	7. Chapter 7: Operation: Take Down Part 1

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from the Yu Yu Hakusho series. If I did, trust me, the series would NOT have ended like it did. Kurama and Hiei would have kissed at least. **_

_**Now, Kurama and Hiei have learned Delilah's reason for being a stone faced liar to anyone and about just about everything under the sun. Will they trust her now that they know, and if they do, will their jobs in taking down the Kingpins of Underground go according to HER plans? Or will Delilah's past come back to haunt her in ways that would destroy the delicate balances of her mind? **_

_**Please note, this chapter will have YAOI in it. Not too much, just a little. But the pairings in this chapter are as follows... Kurama/Hiei, Delilah/Vlad, Yusuke/Keiko and that is it. I do not like it when Kuwabara is paired with Yukina, she can do a hell of a lot better. **_

_**Now... the fighting... yeah I will admit that they are not great because I am personally not a violent person. I do not like to fight, do not like to watch people fighting, I am just a lover, not a fighter. So if they are not all that good... get the hell out of a romance story and go read an action/adventure story. **_

_**So without further delay, I give you Chapter Seven: Operation: Take Down Part 1.**_

_**Chapter Seven:**_

_**Operation: Take Down Part One**_

Vlad sighed heavily as he and Delilah walked into Koenma's office early the next morning. Koenma had called them in a little earlier than the others to discuss a few things. He knew that a take down of the biggest network of crime was necessary, but he did not know how they were going to pull it off. Delilah sighed heavily as she walked into the room and sat in a plush chair beside the window. The night before had been a nightmare for her. She wanted to sleep so bad, however, her mind just kept replaying everything from the night before and from farther in her past. She leaned her head back against the chair and looked out the window. The sun had yet to rise over the horizon and she was upset that she was up as well.

"How can we possibly pull this off, Delilah? I mean... Underground is EVERYWHERE!" Vlad said as he leaned against the back of her chair. "How do you get so many people without them scattering to the four winds?"

Delilah sighed lightly. "You hit as many of them as you can at the same time. Do not give them a single chance to warn anyone else."

Koenma nodded lightly as he listened to Delilah and Vlad's discussion. They knew that he was listening and that was enough for them. They could have been texting the entire conversation and the toddler would have agreed with anything that the two of them had to come up with.

"So, how do we hit that many at the same time?" Vlad asked her.

She leaned her elbow against the soft plush arm of the chair and laid her cheek on her closed fist. She rolled her eyes and shook her head lightly. "Am I the only one that can come up with anything here? Come on, Vlad, think... exactly HOW do you hit as many people at once?"

Vlad frowned as he considered several different solutions. He smirked and snapped his fingers. "You call in several different departments!"

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner," Delilah said sarcastically. "The only question is... will they participate Koenma?"

Koenma nodded as he seen her finally turn the chair to look at him. "They will participate. It will be a direct order from me."

She nodded and sighed lightly as she looked over her shoulder at her partner. "Rock, paper, scissors to see who gets to make a morning full of calls?"

Vlad smirked and shook his head. "How about we split the list in half."

She frowned and groaned lightly at him. "How the hell did I know that you were going to say that?"

"Because I got it from you before you sent me undercover," he said smartly as he leaned over her shoulder. "Besides, you are more convincing than I am. You are higher up on the food chain here."

Delilah rolled her eyes and stood up from the chair. She walked over to Koenma's desk and picked up his phone number directory. She groaned again as she sat on the corner of his desk and began to flip through the numbers. She growled as she read off one of the numbers, this was one department that she did not get along with. She grumbled under her breath as she picked up the phone in front of Koenma and punched in the number.

))_))_

Three hours later Kurama, Hiei and the rest of the members of Koenma's department had gathered in the large conference room. Kurama frowned as he was seated closest to Delilah. But then again, so was Hiei.

"Alright everyone, please take your seats and let's get started," Delilah said firmly, obviously having drank several cups of coffee had waken her up. "We have a lot to discuss and very little time. I am a very fast talker, so please try to keep up with me here."

Vlad had a clicker in his hand and he pressed a button. All of the television screens around the room clicked on and it was showing several different departments. Kurama frowned again as he looked around at all the different screens, each holding more and more faces. This was odd, they never collaborated with other departments.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, I do not like to repeat myself, so please try to keep up. As you all know, Underground is one of the largest and most powerful organizations in the world, and we HAVE to do something to stop it before it takes over. In order to get to every single major player associated with Underground we have contacted every single department in our midst of both Spirit and Demon Worlds. We will need EVERYONE of you to do your parts in order to pull this off."

Vlad pulled down a large map behind them both. He took a deep breath and looked back at the rest of the room. "If we pull this off, it will got go down as THE biggest and the most widespread take down of a single organization in the history of demon kind. On the map here are thirty five markers. Each represents the known location of a key player associated with Underground. Each team descending upon each of their markers will consist of of ten to twelve members. Each team will be responsible for the individual take down of the Underground affiliate AND any one present that is associated with them."

Delilah pulled up her sleeves and took a deep breath. "Alright, Kurama... since you are so close with Yomi, you will be responsible for bringing him down. The same goes for you, Hiei with Murkuro. Yusuke and Kuwabara will be taking down Tobias Carmichael."

Delilah and Vlad took turns splitting up the departments into several dozens of teams, designating them to a specific target. Delilah went on to explain that each department would have snipers on hand to oversee all transactions between Underground and the agents, just to ensure maximum safety. Vlad went on to explain that Underground members were ruthless in every aspect of their lives.

"They are not above killing someone that they do not trust," Vlad said firmly, "Do not make the mistake of being the fool to put your trust into one of them. Koenma has made all orders very clear. If a member of Underground does not go quietly... then the order is shoot to kill. Hence another reason that snipers are everywhere on this one, guys."

Delilah nodded and sighed lightly, "Underground uses weapons that are specifically designed to kill a cop. Their ammo will easily tear into your vests and your armors so if they move for a weapon, kill them first or else it will be your own funeral."

Vlad nodded and chuckled. "We do have a bit of an advantage, though. Underground has one major weakness. Each and every single one of the members believe that they are untouchable. They think that they can continue their daily lives destroying others and never having to face a repercussion for it."

"Today, we prove them wrong," Delilah said as she crossed her arms. "No more hiding. We will strike them in the heart. Our strike will be swift and unseen to those affected. We strike as one. End of story. By the end of the day, Underground will be nothing but a distant memory!"

Vlad nodded and clicked on the lights around them. "Any questions?"

Yusuke cleared his throat. "Actually... yeah. You two have said what everyone else is going to be doing... but what about you, Delilah?" Yusuke asked. "And Vlad for that matter?"

She smirked and shook her head, "Wouldn't you like to know."

"Actually," Kuwabara snapped. "I think we all would like to know. You two planned this... what is your part?"

Vlad looked at Delilah and she shrugged her shoulders at him, letting him answer. "Delilah and I will also be going after a target. Our marker is not here because the two of us already know where he is. He hasn't exactly been hiding from us."

Kurama scoffed beside them. "Even I would require a little bit more information that that. Who is it that you two are going after and why did you make it sound like it was only going to be the two of you?"

"The name is unimportant to any of you," Delilah smirked lightly and leaned against the table. "He is the fourth and final Kingpin of Underground. He supports the other three Kingpins; financially, providing safe houses, and even covering for the high rollers in the system."

Vlad smirked and he and Delilah chuckled lightly, "And it WILL only be Vlad and I going after him."

"Why only the two of you?" Hiei asked. "It will be wiser to take a team with you."

Delilah shrugged her shoulders. "It may be smart to take a team with us... however... this is more personal for the two of us. He will be expecting the two of us."

Kurama frowned and shook his head. "All the more reason to take a team with you. What if you walk right into an ambush?"

Vlad shook his head. "That won't happen."

"What makes you so sure?"

Vlad shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms over his chest. "Because it is as personal to him as it is to us."

"He will face us alone," Delilah said flatly. "He has already said as much."

"Who is he?" Hiei asked. "And do not say that it is not important. Koenma said that we needed to trust you, now give us a reason to."

"Well," Delilah smirked as she looked at Hiei. "Since you asked so nicely... I will tell you. His name is Rasputin Von Schunard. And his alias is tied directly into Underground."

"What is his alias and his connection?" Kurama asked.

Vlad smirked then chuckled lightly. "You personally hit me because I flipped him off back at the hotel two days ago," Vlad informed him.

Kurama blinked. "The Auctioneer?!"

"And Bingo was his name-o," Delilah said and pushed off of the desk. "Everyone has their assignments. Do not make a move until it is confirmed that all teams are in position. You wait for my call. Dismissed!"

))_))_

Hiei sighed heavily as he zipped up his bullet proof vest. He reached to the top of his locker and pulled out the white button up shirt. He glanced over to his left at Kurama as he slipped the light material over his arms. Kurama was already dressed and was lacing his military issued boots. Hiei smiled lightly as he watched the red head lace them with perfect fingers. Kurama looked up after a moment and found himself looking into deep red eyes. He smiled lightly as he watched Hiei sit on the bench next to him.

"What is wrong, Hiei?" Kurama asked as he seen the look change on his face. "You actually look worried."

Hiei sighed lightly and turned to his partner. Hiei pulled him into a hug and held him there, unwilling to let him go. Kurama smiled as he wrapped his arms around the smaller fire demon. "What brought on this affectionate side of you Hiei? You only show this side of yourself at home, when it is just the two of us."

Hiei held him tighter, looking beyond his partner and sighed lightly. "Promise me that you will be careful, fox. I don't want to lose you."

Kurama smiled lightly again and rubbed his cheek on Hiei's shoulder, a sort of comfort to the smaller fire demon. "I am not going anywhere, Hiei. Koenma gave me full use of the Youko form and all of my powers, should I need them. I will be alright."

Hiei frowned and shook his head. "Yomi silently hates you, Kurama. He is not going to go down without a fight."

Kurama smirked and pulled out of Hiei's embrace to look him in the eye. "Then it is a good thing that I have silently hated him back. I will not lose, Hiei. Yomi never could beat me in a fight before, and he will not win this time. I have a few tricks up my sleeves still, my love."

Hiei looked down, still not sure whether Kurama was sincere or just trying to make him feel better. As if reading his thoughts, Kurama smiled lightly and put his hands on Hiei's cheeks. He pulled him forward and Hiei melted as Kurama's lips fell upon his own. Hiei opened up immediately to his partner, as he always did, and wrapped his arms around the redhead's neck. Kurama smirked lightly and ran his hands down Hiei's back until they wrapped around his waist. Hiei gasped, breaking the kiss as Kurama lifted him off the bench and pulled him until the fire demon was straddling his hips. Hiei felt the hard bench beneath his knees and he looked down at his mate.

"I love you, Hiei," Kurama said lightly as he kissed the exposed skin of Hiei's throat. "I always have, and I always will. Nothing is going to keep me away from you, not even death."

"You planning to die on me, Kurama?" Hiei snapped. "Do not say such a thing."

Kurama smirked against Hiei's neck and shook his head. "I have no intentions of dying on you, Hiei. The only person in this entire world that could truly kill me is you. I merely said that death could not keep us apart. Death did not separate us before, when I became human. You waited for me for thirteen years before you came back into my life. But somehow, I always knew that you were there, watching me, protecting me and waiting for me. I am indebted to you for that, my love, and I would do the same thing for you until the day that our souls fail to return to the lands of the living."

Hiei claimed the redhead's lips the moment he finished speaking, entangling his hands in the long red tresses of hair that framed Kurama's gorgeous face. Kurama wrapped his arms around the fire demon, sliding them up and down the small back of the man in his lap. It again was a comforting motion that Hiei was accustom to and Kurama wanted the fire demon as calm as possible for the fight ahead. Hiei was no fool and knew what the fox was doing to him, however, he was grateful to his mate for that. Kurama was always his peace of mind, his rock to hold him to this world when he felt like he was slipping into oblivion. And the fox knew it too.

Suddenly, a locker slamming a few rows back caught their attentions. Hiei frowned as he stood up from where he was sitting atop the fox. He burrowed his brows together as he looked at the red head, who looked as curious as he was. Together they decided to sneak a peak at who else was here. However, as they peaked around the corner, they did not expect to find what they did see.

Delilah was there, fully dressed in tactical gear, was on her knees facing the lockers. Her forehead rested against the icy metal of the mundane lockers and her hands were clenched so hard that her knuckles were white. Behind her, Vlad sat on the bench between the lockers and was rubbing her back lightly. Kurama frowned as he could visibly see and audibly hear Delilah's cry. Hiei looked at his partner and shook his head.

_"I have never seen her cry," Hiei said telepathically to his partner. "I wonder what is wrong."_

Kurama shrugged his shoulders and looked back to the younger couple down the row. _"Who knows. Perhaps there is something going on between them. They did say that the two of them knew each other better than anyone else."_

Hiei nodded and looked back to them. But before they could get the chance to talk more between them, they could hear Delilah's cries intensify as Vlad got on his knees beside her.

"I can't do this anymore, Vlad!" Delilah cried.

Vlad looked down and nodded. "I know. Tonight... we end this. Once and for all."

Delilah nodded and sat back on her heels as she turned to look at her partner. "But what then, Vlad? Nothing we do is ever going to bring Bastian back. Nothing..."

Vlad pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back. "I know, Lilah," he said softly. "I miss him too. And you are right... nothing will bring him back. But that doesn't mean that we cannot do this for him now. We owe him this much at least."

Delilah nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck. She buried her head into his shoulder and sobbed lightly. "He would have been twelve today, Vlad. He would have started middle school, started chasing after girls... but... he will never have that chance..."

Vlad nodded and sighed lightly. "He won't have the chance to be a teenager, Delilah. But he died knowing that he had more love in the world than one person could ever know. He knew that his mother loved him, and his father. And he is watching over us right now, guiding us down the right paths."

She nodded as she pulled away from him. "I know. But I just miss him so much."

Kurama and Hiei felt heartbroken. So that was the connection between Vlad and Delilah. The son that Delilah had mentioned before was both of their son. Vlad was the boy's father, and Delilah... she sent him undercover shortly after that... Why would she do something like that? Did she not want to see him, or was it really to get the intel needed to take down the man who really did kill their son? Both demons silently retreated and left the locker room. They walked back into Koenma's office and informed the lord that they were off, each heading to their targets. However, before they could leave the office, Koenma called out to them.

"I know that both Yomi and Murkuro are not going to go quietly," Koenma said to them. "So this is a direct order to you both. Should they refuse to come in and face their punishments that I have set aside for them... you have my permission to kill them both. I could care less whether they lived or died after the treachery that they have caused."

"Yes, sir," came a dual reply as Kurama and Hiei both nodded and headed off in the directions of the castles belonging to Yomi and Murkuro.

Hiei arrived to his destination first, intending to deal with the wicked witch fast and be done with this, however, Koenma was right, Murkuro did not want to go quietly. Murkuro attacked him the moment he mentioned the word Underground.

"You dare spy on me, you sick little bastard!" she screamed as she came at Hiei with her full force, slashing at him with claws that Hiei didn't know she possessed. "I will end you before I give up to you!"

Hiei pulled his sword from its sheath and countered her next attack, a loud echoing metallic clang sounding through the large hollow room. He pushed her back, wanting to take her in alive so that she received her just punishment. He used his skills as a swordsman to his advantage, dodging her attacks as quickly as she threw them. He countered her every move with precise movements, still not harming her in any way. She noticed that he had yet to even strike her once. She used this to HER advantage. Sure she would tire herself out, but she knew that Hiei wanted her alive.

Hiei knew that he would have to land a blow that would disable her enough to take her in, but he didn't know whether or not he would kill her. He hated this bitch. Hated her with more passion than a lion guarding it's pride. All Hiei knew was if he did land a strike on her, he could not guarantee that he would not kill her. Hiei groaned as she landed a perfect strike on his neck, leaving three identical slash marks from his ear to his shoulder. He growled as he shoved her back once again. Koenma's words rang clear in his head. He was given a direct order from Koenma to kill her if she refused to come in to face her punishment.

Hiei smirked and decided that her death was punishment enough. He balled up his fist and waited for the moment that she got close enough to strike. And the moment that she did, she gasped as she flew back several feet. She landed on her back and growled as she sat up to look at him. She frowned as she wiped the blood from the side of her mouth. She looked up at him and frowned as she seen the bandage that wound around his arm was uncoiling. He was going to use his dragon to subdue her. She shook her head and stood up. He couldn't use that without killing her. He needed her alive.

"You are a fool, Hiei," Murkuro said darkly. "If you use the dragon, you will kill me. You will not be bringing me in alive."

"Funny thing about that, you psychotic bitch," Hiei said as he held up his unbound arm. "Koenma said DEAD or alive. And since you will not go quietly... I guess your head will be enough for him."

Murkuro frowned. She hadn't considered that Koenma would go that far. She knew that he would be pissed should he find out that she was a part of Underground, but she figured that she would want to see her rot in prison before she died. Hiei smirked darkly as he summoned the dragon forth. He sent the strike forward and Murkuro was surrounded by a dark energy. She screamed as the dragon burned her from the inside out, destroying her soul along with her body. As the scream died out, Hiei smirked. He finally felt a sense of relief. He always felt smothered when it came to Murkuro and now that she was dead... he finally felt... free.

))_))_

Yomi smirked as he could imagine Kurama standing there with his hands in his pockets. "Well, well. I may not have the eyes to see you, but the beat of your heart, the hard leather in the heels of the boots on your feet... all signs point to the fact that you are pissed."

Kurama chuckled lightly as he slowly approached the old goat demon. He came to stand beside his former comrade, looking out over the very lands that Yomi ruled. "You have been quite busy since I stopped coming to your castle every weekend."

Yomi smirked again and shrugged his shoulders. "Can you blame me, Youko? You have always been the most interesting thing in my life. When the object of my affections decides not to come to me... one can get a little discontent and reckless."

"Affections?" Kurama spat. "More like obsession."

Yomi chuckled. "I guess you of all people can say that. But the truth in the matter is actually more simple than just wanting you by my side once again, Youko."

Kurama frowned as he looked at the goat. "And what is the truth in the matter, Yomi? That you want me dead because I was the one that took your sight all those years ago?"

Yomi chuckled and shook his head. "You finally get it. After years of searching for the demon that actually took my sight, finding out that you were the one that hired him was like a bullet to the heart. But then, I had suspected that it was you. You always were the jealous type."

Kurama frowned. "What are you babbling on about?"

Yomi frowned. "You were pissed off at me for looking at another, so you hired that monster to take my sight. But the plan backfired on you, didn't it."

Kurama shook his head. "You know, Yomi... I had thought that you were a better than this. You are stalling me. What are you waiting for?"

Yomi smirked and turned from the window. "You are here to confront me about Underground, are you not?"

Kurama turned and stared at the goat, though his back was still turned to him. "If you knew as much, why the stalling, Yomi? What are you waiting for? And do not make me ask you this again."

Yomi smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "Very well. I will show you exactly what I have been stalling you for."

The door opposite of them opened and a figure stepped forward, the soft tap of heels on the cold marble floor echoing lightly in Youko's ears. Kurama's eyes widened as he seen the man standing before him. Kurama could not believe the sight before him.

"Hello, Youko," the man said, flashing his pearly white teeth. "Long time no see."

"Kuronue!"

))_))_

Delilah sighed lightly as she leaned against the table. She looked at the clock on the wall and knew that the calls were going to start coming in soon to alert her that the teams were in position for the take down. She and Vlad were in the middle of a quiet discussion between them when the first team reported to them over walkie talkie. Vlad shook his head, of course it was the SWAT team from the east that was the first in position. They were always ahead of the rest of the teams, and trained that way to be the best.

"How exactly do you want to play this, Delilah?" Vlad asked her after a few moments.

Delilah sighed lightly and sat back. "I know that Rasputin is not going to fight fair. Even with the two of us, he will not be outnumbered by us. So we are going to have to play just as dirty as he will."

Vlad nodded. "So we are not going unarmed."

Delilah nodded. "We will show up like we would have shown up against any other opponent. Ready to fight."

Vlad smiled. He knew his partner too well. Ready to fight was just her code for ready to kill you and anyone else that wants to play with me. She was an excellent planner and never went anywhere without at least three back up plans. Vlad had to admire her for that. The only time that he ever had a back up plan was when he chose to mate with her instead of leaving her after their son died.

The calls continued to come in, leaving only three teams left to get into place before the raid actually began. Delilah was surprised, it was only three in the afternoon and they had all set out about noon. She had expected it to be a night raid, but apparently she had been wrong.

At ten minutes to four, Delilah gave the green flag for the massive take down, watching the computer screens in Koenma's communications department to see how successful it was. She smirked as she watched the many faces of Underground's members freaking out as they seen the Police, SWAT, Armed Forces and Special Detectives pouring in from all sides. Koenma walked into the room and shook his head with a grin on his face to see the pair sitting on the operations table in the middle of the room. They were both laughing lightly as they pointed to different screens, seeing which one could pick out the best shell shocked expression. He came to stand beside them and shook his head, hoping that there were few casualties.

"Koenma, sir," a young demon said beside the lord. "There is a call from Hiei, my Lord."

Koenma picked up the phone beside him and sighed lightly. "Koenma speaking."

**"It's Hiei,****" **the caller said into the other line. **"Unfortunately Murkuro chose to resist coming in. She is dead. Should I come back to the office?"**

Koenma frowned and shook his head. "I still haven't heard anything from Kurama. Head to Yomi's palace and see if you could lend him a hand."

**"It isn't like Kurama to take longer than me to do something," **Hiei said into the phone. **"Does the personnel beacon still read that he is actually AT Yomi's palace?"**

Koenma snapped his fingers to a technician beside him. "Agent Kurama Minamino, number 23896432. Find me the location, now."

The young man nodded quickly and typed the information into the computer. "Location found sir..."

Koenma looked at the map and sighed lightly as he put the phone back up to his ear. "Yeah, Hiei... he is still at Yomi's palace. Get over there and see what is the hold up. I need you both back here as soon as you are finished there."

**"Yes, sir. I will pass this onto Kurama," **and with that, Hiei ended the conversation.

"Uh, Koenma... You might have a bit of a problem over there," Vlad said as he pointed to the screen in which he had located Kurama. "There are three massive energies there, not just two. Who does the third energy belong to?"

Koenma tapped the technician on the shoulder and the man quickly typed a few words. He shook his head and turned back to Koenma. "No information available."

Delilah looked at the signature and frowned. "All demons were added to the system twenty years ago, right..."

Koenma nodded. "The only demons not in the system are those that died before the system was created twenty years ago. And there were only a few that were close to Yomi. There is only one that comes to mind when looking at those three signatures together..."

"Kuronue," Delilah said flatly. "Good thing that you sent that boy's mate over there. When Hiei gets his hands on Kuronue... I highly doubt there will be much left."

Koenma blinked. "You know that Hiei and Kurama are a mated pair?"

"It takes a mated pair to recognize one," Vlad said with a smile. "The quick glances, the slightest brush of each others' arms, the works."

"How..."

"Vlad and I have been doing it for years, Koenma," Delilah said as she pushed herself off of the table. "I think of all people that we would be able to recognize the shit we still do today."

Delilah smirked lightly as she turned and walked out of the room. Alright, time to go get ready, she told herself. There were a few items that she was going to be bringing along on their little trip and she needed the time to gather them all up. Vlad followed her out and the two left the communications department and headed for the weapons' locker. Koenma had already unlocked their private weapons' vault and all that was needed were the keys around their necks.

Delilah and Vlad smiled brightly as the vault opened up before them, revealing all of their weapons, small and large. "Oh be still my heart."

"Things of beauty," Vlad said lightly at the same time as Delilah had spoken. "Papa missed you all!"

Delilah chuckled lightly as she glanced at her mate. "You know... we need to come down here more often. Give them all a proper workout every now and again."

"Agreed!" Vlad said as the two laughed. "But first, we have an enemy to kill."

"I couldn't agree more," she said as the two gathered the equipment that they needed.

))_))_

Kurama groaned lightly as his back hit the wall. Kuronue stood before him laughing lightly. "What is this... the Youko that I knew would never have let me get that close!"

Kurama winced as he felt the blood rushing down the side of his face. "The Youko that you knew got himself killed... I will not. I am a hell of a lot smarter than he was."

"You say that now... and yet... you are the one bleeding..." Kuronue chuckled darkly. "Or perhaps... you are only a shell of your former self, unable to realize your true potential."

Kurama forced himself to stand up against the pair that were blocking him from fleeing into an open field. "I never said that. I said I was smarter."

"Oh, yeah," Yomi said behind the bat demon. "And what makes you think that you are smarter now than you were before?"

"Because he didn't come alone!"

Kuronue turned to stare at the intruder and frowned. "Ah, you must be the new comrade that Yomi has told me about... Hiei I believe it was."

Kurama blinked as he seen Hiei standing at the door with his hand on the hilt of his sword. His heart leapt at the sight of his partner standing there, against all the odds, Hiei had actually come. Yomi frowned and shook his head. "I can honestly say... I had not expected you to show up."

Hiei frowned and faced the pair separating him and his mate. "I came here to assist my partner in the arrest of a criminal. Sue me for ruining your plans."

Yomi chuckled and shook his head. "I have no intentions of fighting with either of you. I will go quietly. I will admit all of my faults and turn myself in."

Kurama frowned and looked at the goat. "What game are you playing, Yomi? No one WANTS to admit their guilt in a matter of treason!"

Yomi shrugged his shoulders. "I am guilty. I merely wanted to reunite the lovers that caused me to loose my sight."

Hiei frowned and glared at the bat who stood there with a look of confusion on his face. "Lovers?"

Hiei stopped. The bat was confused by such a simple word. "What's the matter, Bat... did you loose half your brain cells before being revived?"

Kuronue shook his head as he looked at Yomi. "Youko and I were never lovers. We were just good friends."

Yomi frowned and turned to the bat. "You are mistaken."

Kurama chuckled lightly and crossed his arms. "Even with your sight you were blind as a bat, Yomi. He speaks the truth. The one time that you DID see us together was because I was in heat and didn't want to freak the rest of the group out. He helped me for one night, but that does not exactly make us lovers."

"I resent that blind as a bat remark," Kuronue stated flatly over his shoulder to the ex-fox. "That statement is not entirely false though. Yomi... why did you revive me? I was happy where I was."

Yomi frowned and crossed his arms. "So you were happy to rot in hell?"

Kuronue smiled lightly and closed his arms around his stomach. "I was not in hell. Unless hell has been described wrong to the entire world. I was surrounded by light, everything around me was beautiful, cheerful and peaceful. If that was hell... then I will gladly go back there."

"You have been revived," Yomi snapped. "The only way you go back is if you died again. And even then, there is no telling if you will return to the same place. Perhaps you will indeed go to the darkest pits of hell this time."

Kurama moved behind the bat. He glanced at the red head and frowned as he came to stand beside Hiei. Kurama smirked lightly as he reached behind his back, pulling out a pair of spirit energy reducing handcuffs. He held them up with one finger and looked directly at Yomi.

"Since you have admitted your guilt in the charges of treason," Kurama said softly. "Shall we be on our way then?"

Yomi frowned. This was not how he had planned this evening to go. He had planned to use Kuronue's life as a way to get the fox to reconsider which side he was on. Of course, he did plan on turning himself in. He had grown bored of Underground, but he would never have expected the plan to go so awry. He sighed lightly and looked down.

"I guess it is that time," he said flatly as he held out his arms, wrists together.

Kurama glanced at Hiei with a quick smirk on his lips as he walked over to stand behind Yomi. "Lord Yomi, as per the certain conditions of your lordship, I hereby relieve you of your commanding post. You are hereby placed under arrest on the charges of treason in the highest decree, trafficking of illegal narcotics, kidnapping, rape in the second degree, murder, attempted murder, and above all else, capitol murder for the death of a high ranking officer of the courts."

Yomi frowned, he hadn't expected the list of charges to be THAT long. So, anyone affiliated with Underground was charged with the EXACT same crimes, huh. If he had known that when he joined the group, he would have easily steered clear of it.

Kurama pulled his arms behind his back and placed his wrists in the cuffs, the cuffs instantly turning green as Yomi's powers were sucked from him. The goat groaned, his powers were what he used to keep himself alive all this time. He knew that if he didn't inform the fox... but wait... Yomi frowned as he could still feel just enough energy inside to keep himself alive.

"I am not a fool, Yomi," Kurama said as he took him by the arm. "I know that it is your powers that are keeping your body going and in such a good condition."

Yomi smirked. "I guess I really have underestimated you, Youko. You are indeed better than before."

"I have told you this time and again," Kurama said with a smirk. "I am just smarter in this form."

Kurama pulled Yomi by the arm out of the door, Hiei turned to leave as well. "Hey... what about me? What am I gonna do?"

Kurama and Hiei turned back to the flustered bat. Hiei looked at the red head and shrugged his shoulders. "As per our orders, we are to arrest anyone with ties to Underground. You are not our priority. Should you behave yourself, you never will be our priority."

Kurama smiled lightly as he seen the look of confusion cross Kuronue's face. "What Hiei is trying to say is that you are a free man, Kuronue. You have not done anything wrong since you have been revived, therefore, you are indeed the farthest thing from the top of Koenma's list of priorities."

With that, the two detectives and their prisoner turned on their heels and left the confused bat demon behind. They returned to Koenma's castle and Yomi was taken into custody by the court systems.

))_))_

End of Chapter Seven: Take Down Part 1. Hope you all enjoyed. I am not a very good action/adventure writer so yea, I had to cut the ending a bit short. I will try to make the next fight a whole lot better, but I am not promising that it will be perfect.

And so, Murkuro was killed because she would not surrender, Yomi was taken into custody because he DID surrender. Will Yusuke have had as much luck as the other two? What happens when Delilah and Vlad face off against Rasputin? Will they get their revenge, or will their pasts come back to haunt them in ways that could destroy them both? Find out next time.

Please leave your comments and reviews. I enjoy taking time to review everything that you might have to say. I appreciate any and all types of feedback, save for flaming. That shit really does piss me off. So please, leave me your reviews and I will get back to them soon.

Ta ta for now.


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